How is waist-to-hip ratio calculated?

Waist to hip ratio is calculated by measuring the circumference of an individual’s waist and dividing it by the circumference of the individual’s hips. To measure the waist, you will need a tape measure or some sort of measuring device. While standing in a relaxed position, take the waist measurement at the smallest portion of the natural waist. This is usually just above the belly button. For the hips, the measurement is taken at the widest part. Once the two measurements are taken, simply divide the waist by the hip to get the ratio. For women a normal ratio is below .80 and for a male the normal ratio is below .95. It should be considered that waist to hip ratio does not take into account lean body mass or fat mass, so a person could have a high waist to hip ratio but have a low body fat percentage.