Waist-to-height ratio calculator
Waist-to-height ratio divides waist circumference by height. Keeping waist below half your height is the widely used threshold. It matters more than weight in the menopause transition because fat redistributes towards the abdomen as estrogen falls, including visceral fat around the organs, which is metabolically active and linked to insulin resistance and cardiovascular risk. Weight and BMI both miss that change entirely.
Two separate things happen in midlife and they are constantly conflated. Weight gain is gradual and tracks ageing. Fat redistribution to the abdomen is the menopausal part, and it happens whether or not the scale moves.
That is why waist is the more useful measurement here. Someone whose weight has not changed but whose waist has grown four centimetres has had a real change, and it is the kind that matters for metabolic and cardiovascular risk.
Measure your waist at the midpoint between your lowest rib and the top of your hip bone, breathing out normally, without pulling the tape tight.
Based on a published formula
Waist-to-height ratio — A simple screening measure with a widely used threshold of 0.5. It is a screen, not a diagnosis, and it does not replace blood pressure, glucose and lipid measurement.
Read more on this
Menopause belly fat: why it appears where it does
Insulin resistance in menopause: the quiet metabolic shift
Menopause weight gain: what actually changes and what does not
Sources
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute — Heart-healthy living
- SWAN — Study of Women's Health Across the Nation
- The Menopause Society — patient education