# Better than BMI? Waist to height ratio.



## Promethea (Aug 24, 2009)

So I'm sure that you are all familiar with the critiques of bmi. Well, I kept coming across an alternate way of measuring thats supposed to be 'better' than bmi -- whatever that means. I still think that these things just depend on your body type. I mean a pear shape can carry a lot of weight in the thighs and bootay, and still have a tiny waist. Not sure what it would mean for me as an hourglass. 

Anyway, I think all this measuring tool did for me is boost my ego.



What do you all think?:

Waist To Height Ratio Calculator


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## Elinor Dashwood (Mar 3, 2011)

I think it's good to use other measures in conjunction with BMI to gauge health, but I wish this particular scale didn't have only one option for "healthy, attractive." Waist-to-height, like BMI, is a lone measure that gives limited information in and of itself. And it's odd for a health tool to use a qualitative word like "attractive" to describe a narrow range of body type.


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## HamsterSamurai (Jun 28, 2012)

Your Waist-to-Height Ratio is : 39.39Extremely slim

Ego booster, yes! I know that I don't carry any extra weight around my waist though. It's everywhere else: arms, thighs, calves... I carry more excess weight on my face than I do on my waist, ha. 


edit: I'm an hourglass too, and my BMI is 21. What does this data mean?


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## Promethea (Aug 24, 2009)

HamsterSamurai said:


> Your Waist-to-Height Ratio is : 39.39Extremely slim
> 
> Ego booster, yes! I know that I don't carry any extra weight around my waist though. It's everywhere else: arms, thighs, calves... I carry more excess weight on my face than I do on my waist, ha. 
> 
> ...


Pretty sure your bmi is in the healthy range.


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## Powder monkey (Jun 1, 2012)

Extremely slim. BMI gives me 23.7

I would say it is more accurate, since BMI cannot take into account muscle. For example, (Sir) Chris Hoy has a BMI of 33 based off of his stats here. This would put him in the category of obese. Based on information here, he is barely squeezed out of Extremely Slim, with a 43.84. If you look at pictures of him, he obviously has a fairly low body fat % by how cut his muscles look. 

I think for the average person, it will be generally more accurate as well. Not 100%, but better than BMI by a long shot.


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## Vivid Melody (Apr 25, 2011)

I think it's an accurate measure of overall health but nothing is perfect I suppose.


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## DouglasMl (Nov 3, 2009)

*51.43*
*Healthy, Normal, Attractive Weight

Read: Inside the Ballpark for my age and height.*


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## skycloud86 (Jul 15, 2009)

Your Waist-to-Height Ratio is :*57.97*
*Overweight*
 


I am overweight, but not so much that it affects my health.


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## Mr Canis (Mar 3, 2012)

Your Waist-to-Height Ratio is : 41.43 Extremely slim
BMI : 21.5
Body Fat : 6.1%

Each number has a place in the puzzle, but none tells the whole story alone.


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## parazep (Jul 12, 2012)

You look magical


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## RobynC (Jun 10, 2011)

@Promethea


> Not sure what it would mean for me as an hourglass.


Well your waist is thin and your bust and hips are large. It means you should be easily able to attract men.


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## Promethea (Aug 24, 2009)

RobynC said:


> @Promethea
> 
> Well your waist is thin and your bust and hips are large. It means you should be easily able to attract men.


And apparently piss off women in grocery stores, for merely walking by, as I experienced again today. XD Fun stuff.


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## RobynC (Jun 10, 2011)

@Promethea


> And apparently piss off women in grocery stores, for merely walking by, as I experienced again today.



Jealousy I guess, though being bisexual I'd probably be turned on. 

I've never pissed people off despite also having an hourglass build, though.


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## reletative (Dec 17, 2010)

Waist To Height Ratio Calculator Height : 5 feet 4 inches

Waist : 27

Gender : Female

Calculate Reset

Result Your Waist-to-Height Ratio is : 42.19 Slender and Healthy


This was my waist before I became 17 weeks pregnant. I can only hope to return after this third pregnancy. 

I had a BMI of 22, which would also be considered "slender and healthy." But I also don't carry weight in one specific place, it's just kind of all over. 

I dunno. I think I prefer to go by how I feel.


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## Promethea (Aug 24, 2009)

RobynC said:


> @Promethea
> 
> Jealousy I guess, though being bisexual I'd probably be turned on.
> 
> ...


So what I really wondered, about this system and body type, is if perhaps it would be a more accurate indicator of if you're a healthy apple type. Maybe an hourglass can still sore more in the upper body and lower body while keeping a relatively small waist, but an apple stores it mostly in the upper and mid-section. I don't think it would be very accurate for pear.


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## Anonynony (Jun 24, 2012)

40.3-extremely slim

The best way to measure people is probably by body fat.


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## Glenda Gnome Starr (May 12, 2011)

healthy and attractive: 46.67
BMI: 22


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## Just_Some_Guy (Oct 8, 2009)

Healthy and normal, sweet!

I have extremely broad hips for a man. My underarm drops perpendicular straight to my hips giving me little to no taper to my figure. My chest is also very deep. If you measure the distance between my spine and sternum, I'd be in the single digit percentile. This makes me "barrel chested" with a herculean core, but all the BMI tells me is that I'm "morbidly obese" which makes me fucking furious. The next doctor who casually relies on such a ridiculous scale to assess my health, I'm going to pick up and throw through a fucking wall, because "morbid obesity" is _clearly_ a measure of one's bone structure and musculature. grumble, grumble, grumble...

Ideally, someone should make up a scale that measures the breadth of your shoulders and hips, the distance around your waist, the size of your thighs as well as height and weight. That would at least be slightly more on track. I guess density can be measured if you submerge yourself in water, which ultimately seems the easiest.


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## Constant Change (Nov 23, 2011)

The best way to "measure" is probably to look into the mirror.


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## dagnytaggart (Jun 6, 2010)

32.39..."Abnormally Slim to Underweight"

Then again, my BMI is 13.9. ._.


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