1. Measure your waist as per instructions on our home page.

2. Measure your hips at the widest point as viewed from the side.

3. Divide your waist measurement by your hip measurement.

Example: if you have a 36 inch waist and 40 inch hip measurement your ratio would be  .9. Calculated as 36/40 = .9.

The target ratios are:

Women – less than .80 (which translates to your waist being 80% of your hip measurement)

Men – less than .90 (which translates to your waist being 90% of your hip measurement)

Ratios greater than these indicates an elevated risk of developing diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Body shapes are also important to the hip to waist ratio. Body shapes can be divided into two camps: pear shape and apple shape. Evidence tells us that it is better to be pear shaped than apple shaped. This has to do with the distribution of fat. Belly fat (apple shape) is associated with higher risks for diabetes and vascular disease while fat distributed on the thighs and bottom (pear shape) doesn’t have the same risk. The reason why is still debated. One theory is that fat stored on the hips and bottom act as a fat reserve that stores harmful fat that would otherwise circulate around the body. It is still important to note that more lower body fat still means more fat in general, which will lead to diabetes and cardiovascular/heart disease.

Sources: American Heart Assn.; National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute