Where to measure?

Circumference of the waist: 

• women – measure your waist midway between the bottom of the ribs and the top of the hip bone
• men – measure your waist at the navel

Circumference of the hip: 

• women – measure your hips at the widest point between the hips and buttocks.
• men - measure your hips at the tip of the hip bone

Are you an apple or a pear?

It is recommended to have a WHR < 0.8 for women and WHR < 0.95 for men (pear shape). WHR does not exactly determine whether someone is healthy or not, but a waist to hip ratio below the above-mentioned values is associated with a decreased risk of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and other lifestyle related diseases.

You should also take into consideration the circumference of your waist. It should not exceed 80 cm for women and 94 cm for men.

WHR cannot be applied to children, teenagers and pregnant women.

A few practical remarks

WHR can be also used as a factor in judging female attractiveness. Ladies with a 0.7 WHR are often considered to be more attractive by men. Such beauty "icons" as Venus de Milo, Marilyn Monroe, Sophia Loren and Kate Moss have ratios around 0.7. The ratio is perceived by men as a signal of fertility. Waists of older women typically thicken while their fertility declines.

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