Waist-to-Hip Ratio Calculator

Measuring your waist-to-hip ratio is the best way to see if you're obese and at risk of having a heart attack, according to results of a new study published in The Lancet *.

If waist-to-hip ratio is used to define obesity - instead of the traditional body mass index (BMI) method - the number of people at risk of heart attack is three times what doctors currently estimate, say the researchers.

This is another (and better) way of judging whether your weight is healthy. You can work out your waist-to-hip ratio by dividing the measurement of your waist by that of your hips.

For men, a ratio should ideally not be over 0.90. For women, that figure is 0.85. The higher the number above these values, the greater your risk of heart disease.

* Yusuf S, Hawken S, Ounpuu S, et al. Obesity and the risk of myocardial infraction in 27 000 participants form 52 countries: a case-control study. The Lancet 2005;366:1640-49.