The Waist Hip Ratio And How It Is An Indicator Of Your Health

The fact that BMI is considered by many as an unreliable indicator for good health for some people, it caused experts to come up with an alternative to this calculator and that is the Waist Hip Ratio. This is calculated differently for men and women.

Rather than the BMI calculation, the waist hip ratio is thought to offer a much more realistic parameter of fitness as well as a predictor for obesity related health problems.

Criteria for calculating the waist hip ratio

In a typical waist hip ratio calculator tool, you are required to furnish three details: one whether you are male or female (since there are a different set of determinants or formula for men and women when it comes to the hip waist ratio).

Secondly you put in your waist size and finally your hip size. Based on the details you fill in, you will be told what your waist hip ratio is. Based on the ratio or result of those details, you are assessed on your risk of stroke, coronary heart disease and diabetes.

The Pear Shape and the Apple Shape

The waist hip ratio calculator assesses your body shape; whether you are a pear or an apple. The pear shape is that of a person who has the tendency to accumulate fat around the hips, or the lower body.

The pear shaped person carries less fat on their mid section and more around their hips. On the other hand, the apple shape is that which has more fat accumulated around the waist or the midsection giving a rounder appearance, without a clear hip waist demarcation.

The apple shaped person tends to accumulate more fat in the midsection, and about the waist and abdomen.

How does the hip waist ratio determine propensity for disease?

Those that have a bigger waist when compared to the hip measurement and are seen to accumulate more fat around the waist are more at risk from a number of health problems.

It is seen that apple shaped individuals are more at risk because they carry a lot of fat around their abdomen where all the major organs are situated. This subcutaneous fat impacts the functioning of the organs.

Also when required, the apple shaped individual uses upper body fat into energy for use. This process tends to raise cholesterol and blood pressure. This is how the waist hip ratio calculator can help determine your health risk.