Instruct: Given a question, retrieve relevant passages that answer the question.
Query: What is the hip-to-waist ratio?
The waist-hip ratio or waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) is the dimensionless ratio of the circumference of the waist to that of the hips. This is calculated as waist measurement divided by hip measurement (W ÷ H). For example, a person with a 30″ (76cm) waist and 38″ (97cm) hips has a waist-hip ratio of about 0.78.
Like men, who have a preference for a lower waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), a measure linked to female bodily attractiveness, women tend to be more attracted to men who have broader shoulders and relatively narrow waists (the waist-to-chest ratio; WCR). The ratio, changed by the distribution of android fat in the torso, makes the characteristic V-shape and is related to levels of testosterone in males, also correlated with higher perceived dominance of males.
A study published in the "European Heart Journal" April 2007 showed that waist circumference and waist-hip ratio were predictors of cardiovascular events.
Various methods are used to create a female waist-hip ratio, by either reducing the waist size and/or enlarging the hips and buttocks. A garment such as a corset, BodyBriefer or control brief is often used to reduce the apparent waist size and/or to flatten the stomach area. Hip and buttock padding is sometimes used to enlarge the apparent size of the hips and buttocks.
WHR has been found to be a more efficient predictor of mortality in older people (>75 years of age) than waist circumference or BMI.[8] If obesity is redefined using WHR instead of BMI, the proportion of people categorized as at risk of heart attack worldwide increases threefold.[9] The body fat percentage is considered to be an even more accurate measure of relative weight. Of these three measurements, only the waist-hip ratio takes account of the differences in body structure. Hence, it is possible for two women to have vastly different body mass indices but the same waist–hip ratio, or to have the same body mass index but vastly different waist-hip ratios.
Before puberty both males and females have a similar waist–hip ratio. At puberty, a girl's sex hormones, mainly estrogen, will promote breast development and a wider pelvis tilted forward for child bearing, and until menopause a woman's estrogen levels will cause her body to store excess fat in the buttocks, hips and thighs, but generally not around her waist, which will remain about the same size as it was before puberty. These factors result in women's waist–hip ratio (WHR) being lower than for males, although males tend to have a greater upper-body to waist-hip ratio (WHR) giving them a V shape look because of their greater muscle mass e.g. they generally have much larger, more muscular and broader shoulders, pectoral muscles, teres major muscles and latissimus dorsi muscles.
WHR is used as a measurement of obesity, which in turn is a possible indicator of other more serious health conditions. The WHO states that abdominal obesity is defined as a waist-hip ratio above 0.90 for males and above 0.85 for females, or a body mass index (BMI) above 30.0.[5] The National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) states that women with waist-hip ratios of more than 0.8, and men with more than 1.0, are at increased health risk because of their fat distribution.
Practically, however, the waist is more conveniently measured simply at the smallest circumference of the natural waist, usually just above the belly button, and the hip circumference may likewise be measured at its widest part of the buttocks or hip.[3] Also, in case the waist is convex rather than concave, such as is the case in pregnancy, different body types, and obesity, the waist may be measured at a horizontal level 1inch above the navel.[4]
Children whose mothers had wide hips and a low waist–hip ratio scored highest, leading Lassek and Gaulin to suggest that fetuses benefit from hip fat, which contains long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, critical for the development of the fetus's brain.[32] In addition, evidence suggests that children of low-WHR teens were protected from the cognitive deficits often associated with teen birth.
A woman's waist-hip ratio is an indicator of her age, health and fertility, as well as being a good indicator of other people's judgements of attractiveness, with a lower waist-hip ratio being optimal. All of the above are related to mate choice: a lower waist-hip ratio indicates a younger, healthier, more fertile and more subjectively attractive women, all of which are desirable qualities in a mate.
Studies in twins have suggested that between 22% and 61% of variability in waist-to-hip ratio may be accounted for by genetic factors.[33]
Anogenital distance Digit ratio Physical attractiveness Sexual attraction Wasp waist
Higher waist-hip ratio has been linked with both mobility disability and also cardiovascular disease. Also, within parasite-stress theory itself, women with higher waist-hip ratio's also had a higher incidence of toxoplasmosis, another incidence in which parasitism contributes to developmental instability.
Karremans J. C., Frankenhuis W. E., Arons S. (2010), "Blind men prefer a low waist-to-hip ratio", Evolution and Human Behavior, 31: 182–186; doi:.
Others have criticized the assertion that men universally preferred women with a waist-to-hip ratio of 0.7 or the "hourglass" figure. Studies of peoples in Peru and Tanzania found that men preferred ratios of 0.9. Cashdan (2008) found that in male preferences for waist-to-hip ratios varied and were correlated to economic dependence for women; societies with less economic equality such as Greece, Japan and Portugal favored lower ratios while more egalitarian societies favored higher hip ratios.
It appears that men in westernized societies are more influenced by female waist size than hip size:
Waist-hip ratio is the ratio of the circumference of the waist, to the circumference of the hips. It is calculated by dividing the waist circumference by the hip circumference.
Compared to males, females generally have relatively narrow waists and large buttocks, and this along with wide hips make for a wider hip section and a lower waist–hip ratio.
Research shows that a waist–hip ratio (WHR) for a female very strongly correlates to the perception of attractiveness. Women with a 0.7 WHR (waist circumference that is 70% of the hip circumference) are rated more attractive by men in various cultures. Such diverse beauty icons as Marilyn Monroe, Sophia Loren and the Venus de Milo all have ratios around 0.7. In other cultures, preferences vary, ranging from 0.6 in China, to 0.8 or 0.9 in parts of South America and Africa, and divergent preferences based on ethnicity, rather than nationality, have also been noted.
Other researchers found waist-to-chest ratio the largest determinant of male attractiveness, with body mass index and waist-to-hip ratio not as significant.
Estrogen causes fat to be stored in the buttocks, thighs, and hips in women. When women reach menopause and the estrogen produced by ovaries declines, fat migrates from their buttocks, hips and thighs to their waists. Later fat is stored in the belly. Thus females generally have relatively narrow waists and large buttocks, and this along with wide hips make for a wider hip section and a lower waist-hip ratio compared to men. Hormonal and genetic factors may produce male-like distribution of fat in women i.e. around the belly instead of buttocks and thighs.
Hip size indicates pelvic size and the amount of additional fat storage that can be used as a source of energy. Waist size conveys information such as current reproductive status or health status ... in westernized societies with no risk of seasonal lack of food, the waist, conveying information about fecundity and health status, will be more important than hip size for assessing a female's attractiveness.
The waist-hip ratio equals the waist circumference divided by the hip circumference. Practically, however, the waist is usually measured at the smallest circumference of the natural waist, usually just above the belly button. In case the waist is convex rather than concave, such as is the case in pregnancy and obesity, the waist may be measured at a vertical level 1 inch above the navel. It is important to note that variables such as posture significantly influence the measurement of the waist, and therefore any measurements for a group need to maintain a constant posture between the subjects.
Waist–hip ratio is also a reliable cue to one’s sex and it is hypothesised that the "individuals who represent a mismatch based on the cue provided by WHR (e.g., women with high WHRs or men with low WHRs) would likely be viewed as unattractive by the opposite sex."[56]
In females, measures of Waist to Hip ratio have been observed as an evolutionary sign of attractiveness and reproductive success. A females waist being smaller than her hips by a ratio of 0.7 is considered most attractive as it indicated readiness to give birth to offspring, and overall health to ensure survival of offspring. Waist to hip ratio is determined by an individual's proportions of android fat and gynoid fat. A small waist to hip ratio indicates less android fat, high waist to hip ratio's indicate high levels of android fat.
Using data from the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics, William Lassek at the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania and Steven Gaulin of the University of California, Santa Barbara, found a child's performance in cognitive tests correlated to their mother's waist–hip ratio, a proxy for how much fat she stores on her hips.[32]