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A person's waist-to-height ratio (WHtR), also called waist-to-stature ratio (WSR), is defined as their waist circumference divided by their height, both measured in the same units. The WHtR is a measure of the distribution of body fat. Higher values of WHtR indicate higher risk of obesity-related cardiovascular diseases; it is correlated with abdominal obesity.
A WHtR of over 0.5 is critical and signifies an increased risk; a 2010 systematic review of published studies concluded that "WHtR may be advantageous because it avoids the need for age-, sex- and ethnic-specific boundary values". In April 2022, the UK's National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (a government body) proposed new guidelines which suggested that all adults "ensure their waist size is less than half their height in order to help stave off serious health problems". In September 2022, NICE formally adopted this guideline.
See also
- Allometry – Study of the relationship of body size to shape, anatomy, physiology, and behavior
- Body fat percentage – Total mass of fat divided by total body mass, multiplied by 100
- Body proportions – Proportions of the human body in art
- Artistic canons of body proportions – Criteria used in formal figurative art
- Body shape – General shape of a human body
- Body water – Water content of an animal's body
- Leg-to-body ratio – ratio between leg length and whole body.
- Corpulence index – Measure of leanness (corpulence) of a person
- Waist–hip ratio – Waist measurement divided by hip measurement
References
- Lee CM, Huxley RR, Wildman RP, Woodward M (July 2008). "Indices of abdominal obesity are better discriminators of cardiovascular risk factors than BMI: a meta-analysis". Journal of Clinical Epidemiology. 61 (7): 646–653. doi:10.1016/j.jclinepi.2007.08.012. PMID 18359190.
- Browning LM, Hsieh SD, Ashwell M (December 2010). "A systematic review of waist-to-height ratio as a screening tool for the prediction of cardiovascular disease and diabetes: 0·5 could be a suitable global boundary value". Nutrition Research Reviews. 23 (2): 247–269. doi:10.1017/S0954422410000144. PMID 20819243.
- Gregory A (8 April 2022). "Ensure waist size is less than half your height, health watchdog says". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
- "Obesity: identification, assessment and management | Clinical guideline [CG189]". National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. 8 September 2022. Recommendations 1.2.11 and 1.2.12
Further reading
- Ashwell M, Gunn P, Gibson S (March 2012). "Waist-to-height ratio is a better screening tool than waist circumference and BMI for adult cardiometabolic risk factors: systematic review and meta-analysis". Obesity Reviews. 13 (3): 275–286. doi:10.1111/j.1467-789X.2011.00952.x. PMID 22106927. S2CID 7290185.</ref>