To measure your waist, wrap a flexible tape measure around your midsection at the narrowest point, typically just above your belly button. To measure your hips, wrap the tape around the widest part of your buttocks. Both measurements take under a minute, but small details in technique make the difference between a number you can trust and one that’s off by an inch or more.
How to Measure Your Waist
Stand up straight with your feet together and your arms relaxed at your sides. Find the narrowest part of your torso, which for most people sits between the bottom of the ribs and the top of the hip bones. This is usually right at or slightly above the navel, though it varies by body shape. Wrap a flexible (non-stretchy) tape measure around this spot, keeping it level all the way around so it doesn’t dip or rise in the back.
Before you read the number, take a normal breath in and let it out. Don’t suck in your stomach. The goal is a relaxed abdomen at the end of a regular exhale, not a deep breath hold. The tape should sit flat and snug against your skin without compressing it. If you can’t easily slide a finger underneath, it’s too tight.
How to Measure Your Hips
Stay standing with your legs together. Look in a mirror or glance down to identify the widest point of your hips and buttocks. This is usually around the level of the hip joints, not up at the waistband of your pants. Wrap the tape measure around this widest point, keeping it parallel to the floor. Breathe out naturally, then read the measurement.
If you’re not sure you’ve found the widest spot, take two or three measurements at slightly different heights and use the largest number. That’s your true hip circumference.
Getting an Accurate Reading
A few small mistakes can throw your numbers off significantly. Here’s what to pay attention to:
- Clothing: Measure on bare skin or over very thin, snug-fitting clothing. A belt, bunched fabric, or thick waistband can easily add an inch.
- Posture: Stand as upright as possible. Slouching pushes tissue forward and inflates the waist measurement.
- Tape position: Make sure the tape runs straight across your back. It’s easy for it to ride up without you noticing. A mirror or a second person helps.
- Breathing: Always read the tape at the end of a normal exhale with your abdomen relaxed. Holding your breath or bracing your core gives an artificially small number.
- Timing: Measure after at least a four-hour fast when possible. Eating a large meal temporarily expands the abdomen.
- Consistency: If you’re tracking changes over time, measure at the same time of day, in the same spot, using the same tape. Take two readings and average them.
Calculating Your Waist-to-Hip Ratio
Once you have both numbers, divide your waist measurement by your hip measurement. If your waist is 30 inches and your hips are 38 inches, your waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) is 30 รท 38 = 0.79.
A WHR below 0.85 for women and below 0.90 for men is considered normal. Above those thresholds, the ratio suggests a higher proportion of fat stored around the midsection, which is linked to greater risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and other metabolic conditions. Fat carried around the waist (sometimes called visceral fat) surrounds internal organs and is more metabolically active than fat stored in the hips and thighs, which is why the distinction matters.
What Your Waist Measurement Alone Tells You
Waist circumference on its own is a useful screening tool, separate from the ratio. For women, a waist measurement above 35 inches (88 cm) is generally associated with increased health risk. For men, the threshold is 40 inches (102 cm). These numbers are used alongside BMI to get a fuller picture of how body fat distribution affects health.
Some researchers argue that your waist-to-height ratio is even more informative. You calculate it the same way: divide your waist circumference by your height. A ratio above 0.50 suggests excess central fat regardless of sex. A study of patients with type 2 diabetes found that waist-to-height ratio was a more accurate predictor of high blood pressure than either WHR or BMI, largely because it accounts for body frame size in a way the other measures don’t.
Which Measurement Matters Most
Each measurement captures something slightly different. Waist circumference alone tells you about abdominal fat. The waist-to-hip ratio compares where your body stores fat, upper body versus lower body. The waist-to-height ratio adjusts for your overall frame. No single number gives a complete picture, but waist circumference is the simplest to track and the one most commonly used in clinical guidelines alongside BMI.
If you’re using these numbers to monitor your own health over time, consistency matters more than perfection. Pick one or two measures, take them the same way each time, and pay attention to trends rather than any single reading.