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Browse all calculatorsTwo ratios with published cut-offs and a clothing shape. Not a health assessment.
Descriptive estimates, not a health assessment. Ratios and shapes describe measurements. They do not say whether anyone is healthy. The NHS says its waist-to-height tool is not for use in pregnancy, with an eating disorder, with a condition that affects height, or with a BMI over 35.
This is a general estimate for educational use. It is not medical advice, a diagnosis or a treatment plan. Talk to a doctor, registered dietitian or other qualified professional before you change your diet, exercise or health care.
| Measure | Your value | Published line | Where you sit |
|---|
Private by design. Everything runs in your browser and is never uploaded.
A body type calculator takes tape measurements and returns labels or ratios. This one reports two ratios that have published cut-offs, waist-to-hip and waist-to-height, plus a clothing shape from the FFIT apparel rules. It does not assign ectomorph, mesomorph or endomorph, which need skinfold and bone measurements. Results are descriptive estimates, not a health assessment.
The result updates as you type, in metric or US units, for adults aged 18 to 100. The working shows each division and each rule that was checked. For a different tape-measure estimate, see the body fat calculator, or browse the free online calculators.
| Measurements | Waist-to-hip | Waist-to-height | Clothing shape |
|---|---|---|---|
| Waist 70, hip 96, height 165, bust 92 | 0.73 | 0.42 | Hourglass |
| Waist 85, hip 100, height 170, bust 96 | 0.85 | 0.50 | Rectangle |
| Waist 78, hip 104, height 168, bust 90, high hip 94 | 0.75 | 0.46 | Spoon |
| Waist 84, hip 94, height 172, bust 104 | 0.89 | 0.49 | Inverted triangle |
| Waist 92, hip 98, height 178 (male setting) | 0.94 | 0.52 | Not shown (the FFIT rules are for clothing made for women) |
The first answer is already on screen. Change any number and the results update at once, with no Calculate button.
Metric uses centimetres and US uses inches and feet. Sex only picks which cut-off lines are shown. Age must be 18 to 100; for younger ages you get a note, not a result.
Add a height for the waist-to-height ratio. Switching units converts your numbers, so the same person stays on screen.
The bust unlocks the clothing shape. The high hip is optional and only separates the bottom hourglass from the spoon.
See where each ratio sits against the published lines, open the working, then copy the result or share a link with the same numbers.
Each line comes from a page opened for this calculator and is written for adults. They are lines that organisations publish, not diagnoses, and none of them is a target.
| Measure | Line | How the source words it | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Waist-to-hip ratio, women | 0.85 | The WHO defines abdominal obesity in women as a ratio more than 0.85. | Harvard Nutrition Source, reporting the WHO |
| Waist-to-hip ratio, men | 0.90 | The WHO defines abdominal obesity in men as a ratio more than 0.90. | Harvard Nutrition Source, reporting the WHO |
| Waist-to-height ratio | 0.4 / 0.5 / 0.6 | 0.4 to 0.49 healthy range; 0.5 to 0.59 increased risk of health problems; 0.6 or above highest risk. The NHS says to try to keep the waist under half of height. | British Heart Foundation (BHF) page, which points to NICE guideline NG246; NHS tool page |
| Waist size | 35 in / 40 in | A waist larger than 40 inches for men and 35 inches for women increases the chances of heart disease, cancer or other chronic diseases (101.6 cm and 88.9 cm). | Harvard Nutrition Source, reporting an NIH expert panel |
This calculator shows a value as above a line only when it is strictly more than the line, because the sources say more than. A value exactly on a line is shown as not above it. Another page on this site covers the Army body fat calculator.
FFIT stands for Female Figure Identification Technique. These are the FFIT for Apparel conditions as listed on Wikipedia, in inches as the source gives them. A shape needs every condition in its row.
| Shape | Conditions in inches | The same in cm |
|---|---|---|
| Hourglass | bust − hips ≤ 1; hips − bust < 3.6; and either bust − waist ≥ 9 or hips − waist ≥ 10 | bust − hips ≤ 2.54; hips − bust < 9.14; and either bust − waist ≥ 22.86 or hips − waist ≥ 25.4 |
| Bottom hourglass | hips − bust ≥ 3.6 and < 10; hips − waist ≥ 9; high hip ÷ waist < 1.193 | hips − bust ≥ 9.14 and < 25.4; hips − waist ≥ 22.86; high hip ÷ waist < 1.193 |
| Top hourglass | bust − hips > 1 and < 10; bust − waist ≥ 9 | bust − hips > 2.54 and < 25.4; bust − waist ≥ 22.86 |
| Spoon | hips − bust > 2; hips − waist ≥ 7; high hip ÷ waist ≥ 1.193 | hips − bust > 5.08; hips − waist ≥ 17.78; high hip ÷ waist ≥ 1.193 |
| Triangle | hips − bust ≥ 3.6; hips − waist < 9 | hips − bust ≥ 9.14; hips − waist < 22.86 |
| Inverted triangle | bust − hips ≥ 3.6; bust − waist < 9 | bust − hips ≥ 9.14; bust − waist < 22.86 |
| Rectangle | hips − bust < 3.6 and bust − hips < 3.6; bust − waist < 9; hips − waist < 10 | hips − bust < 9.14 and bust − hips < 9.14; bust − waist < 22.86; hips − waist < 25.4 |
Where rules overlap, this calculator shows both shapes, such as Hourglass or Spoon. The source does not say how to settle overlaps or what to show when no rule matches, so a gap is shown as Between shapes. The pages opened give no numeric rule for apple, oval or diamond, so none of those is shown. The high hip is not defined in the pages opened, so use the same spot each time.
Many pages ask for bust, waist and hip, then show one shape name. These are the differences that matter when you want to understand the answer.
| Feature | Typical body shape calculator | This calculator |
|---|---|---|
| What it returns | One shape name, sometimes with a waist-to-hip ratio | Waist-to-hip and waist-to-height ratios with published lines, plus the clothing shape |
| Rules | Often not stated, and different pages draw the lines in different places | The seven FFIT conditions are listed with their source, and overlaps and gaps are shown as they are |
| Speed | Some need a Calculate button and a page reload | Updates as you type, with an answer on first load |
| Missing measurements | Needs every box filled | Works from waist and hip, and says what each extra measurement adds |
| Wording | Labels and health claims with no named source | Neutral wording, each line credited to its publisher, and a plain not-a-health-assessment note |
| Ectomorph and mesomorph | Sometimes offered with no method | Explained, and not assigned, because the measured version needs skinfolds and bone breadths |
| Units and sharing | Often one unit system | Metric or US with the conversion shown, a copy button and a share link |
An article may quote a waist-to-height ratio of 0.55 or a waist-to-hip ratio of 0.9. Type measurements to see how a ratio is worked out and which published line it sits near.
Measure the same way each time and share a link that opens with the same numbers. To express a change in waist size as a percent, use the percentage calculator.
FFIT was built for apparel, so the clothing shape is a way to group bust, waist and hip differences when reading size charts or adjusting a pattern.
Open the working to follow each division and each FFIT condition, and see how a shape changes when one measurement moves by a centimetre.
Change the bust or hip by a little and watch the shape move across a rule. It shows why two calculators can give two answers for one person.
The ratios describe proportions. For lean mass from weight and height, see the lean body mass calculator, and for skin area, the body surface area calculator.
Those three words come from William Sheldon, an American psychologist, who proposed somatotypes in the 1940s.
Wikipedia reports that the data handling in his main book would not be accepted by researchers today, that his link between body type and temperament was later disputed, and that the system is still used in physical education and cosmetology.
A measured version, the Heath-Carter somatotype, remains popular in research. Its inputs include body mass, height, upper arm and calf girths, femur and humerus breadths and four skinfolds, so a tape around the waist and hips cannot produce it.
Descriptive estimates, not a health assessment. This page does not rate any shape or ratio as good or bad, and it does not tell anyone what to change.
The BHF places the waist tape halfway between the bottom of the ribs and the top of the hips. Harvard places it at the navel and suggests two or three readings. Neither page defines FFIT placement, so pick one method and keep it.
A 2021 study summarised on Wikipedia found that slight changes in measurement placement could put up to 40 percent of women into a different FFIT shape.
Harvard notes that the WHO found cut-offs may vary by ethnicity, for example 0.80 or less for Asian women against 0.85 or less for Caucasian women. This page uses one general adult line.
Harvard says a higher waist-to-hip reading can come from excess abdominal fat or from less lean muscle around the hips, so the ratio alone cannot say which.
The BHF and NHS describe it for adults with a BMI under 35, and a larger body size or an overhanging abdominal fold can make the tape hard to place.
FFIT groups clothing proportions. The ratios are the measures with published health cut-offs, which is why they come first on this page.
It does not screen for, diagnose or treat anything. The NHS says its tool is not for use in pregnancy, with an eating disorder, with a condition that affects height, or with a BMI over 35.
The tool accepts ages 18 to 100. For ages 5 to 17 the NHS asks parents to check BMI first and to use its tool with a parent or carer, so this page shows a note instead.
The WHO report file and the NICE guideline pages could not be opened for this page, so the WHO and NICE figures come from Harvard, the BHF and the NHS. The FFIT rules come from the Wikipedia summary, not the original paper.
Every cut-off and rule on this page comes from a page listed here that was opened for this calculator. The WHO publication page was opened, but the report file itself returned an access error, so the WHO ratios are cited as Harvard reports them. NICE guideline NG246 is named by the BHF; its own pages were not opened. The page does not claim clinical review.
Short answers about the ratios, the shapes and the limits of this calculator.
A body type calculator takes tape measurements such as waist, hip and bust and returns labels or ratios. This one gives the waist-to-hip ratio, the waist-to-height ratio and a clothing shape from the FFIT apparel rules, and it is descriptive only.
Measure your waist, hip and height, type them in, and add your bust to see the clothing shape. The calculator divides waist by hip and waist by height and compares each ratio with a published line. It does not give an ectomorph, mesomorph or endomorph label.
Divide your waist measurement by your hip measurement, both in the same unit. For a 70 cm waist and a 96 cm hip, 70 divided by 96 is 0.73. Harvard reports the WHO cut-offs as a ratio of more than 0.85 for women and more than 0.90 for men.
Divide your waist by your height in the same unit. The NHS says to try to keep the waist under half of height, which is a ratio under 0.5, and the BHF lists three bands: 0.4 to 0.49, 0.5 to 0.59 and 0.6 or above.
They come from William Sheldon, who proposed somatotypes in the 1940s. Wikipedia reports that his data handling would not be accepted by researchers today and that his link between body type and temperament was later disputed. A measured version, Heath-Carter, still used in research, needs skinfolds, bone breadths and girths, so this calculator does not assign it.
The rule list opened for this page has seven shapes and gives no numeric rule for apple, oval or diamond, and other calculators draw those lines in different places. Instead of inventing a threshold, this page shows the ratios, which have published cut-offs, and the seven FFIT shapes.
Shape rules are hard lines, so a small change can cross one. A 2021 study summarised on Wikipedia found that slight changes in measurement placement could move up to 40 percent of women into a different FFIT shape, so treat a result close to a line as approximate.
The BHF puts the tape halfway between the bottom of the ribs and the top of the hips, snug but not digging in, after breathing out normally. Harvard puts the waist tape at the navel and the hip tape at the widest part of the buttocks and suggests two or three readings. Pick one method and use it every time.
No. It compares measurements with published lines and reports proportions. These are descriptive estimates, not a health assessment, and a doctor or other qualified professional looks at the whole picture.
The waist-to-hip lines differ by sex, 0.85 for women and 0.90 for men. Harvard notes that the WHO found cut-offs may vary by ethnicity, for example 0.80 or less for Asian women, and this calculator uses the general adult lines without adjusting for ethnic group.
No. The calculator is for adults aged 18 to 100 and shows a note instead of a result for younger ages. The NHS says its waist-to-height tool needs a parent or carer for ages 17 and under, and that parents should check BMI first for ages 5 to 17.
No. Everything runs in your browser and nothing is sent to a server. Your numbers appear in the page address only after you change a value or tap Share link, and only your choice of metric or US units is remembered on your own device.