Body Type Calculator: Body Shape and Waist-to-Hip Ratio
Find your body shape (hourglass, bottom or top hourglass, spoon, triangle, inverted triangle, rectangle) from bust, waist, high hip and hips with the FFIT rules, plus the waist-to-hip ratio against WHO thresholds. Nothing is uploaded.
Enter your bust, waist, high hip and hip measurements to see your body shape.
About the Body Type Calculator
The Body Type Calculator finds a body shape from four tape measurements: bust, waist, high hip and hips. You can type them in centimetres or inches. It sorts the figure into one of seven shapes used in clothing research, hourglass, bottom hourglass, top hourglass, spoon, triangle (also called pear), inverted triangle and rectangle, and shows the waist-to-hip ratio alongside the World Health Organization thresholds for it.
Body shape describes proportions for choosing clothes that fit; it says nothing about health or worth. This is a fitting guide, not medical advice.
How to measure
Steps
- Stand straight in light clothing and keep the tape level and snug, without squeezing.
- Bust: around the fullest part of the chest.
- Waist: around the narrowest part of the torso, usually just above the navel.
- High hip: around the top of the hip bones, about 10 cm (4 in) below the waist.
- Hips: around the widest part of the seat.
The FFIT rules
The shapes follow the Female Figure Identification Technique (FFIT) for Apparel, published by Simmons, Istook and Devarajan in 2004, as tabulated by Lee, Istook, Nam and Park in 2007. It compares the differences between the measurements in inches and checks the shapes in a fixed order, taking the first that matches.
Shapes
- Hourglass: the bust is no more than 1 in larger than the hips, the hips less than 3.6 in larger than the bust, and the waist at least 9 in smaller than the bust or 10 in smaller than the hips.
- Bottom hourglass: the hips are 3.6 to 10 in larger than the bust, at least 9 in larger than the waist, and the high hip is under 1.193 times the waist.
- Top hourglass: the bust is more than 1 and less than 10 in larger than the hips and at least 9 in larger than the waist.
- Spoon: the hips are more than 2 in larger than the bust and at least 7 in larger than the waist, with a high hip of 1.193 times the waist or more.
- Triangle: the hips are at least 3.6 in larger than the bust and less than 9 in larger than the waist.
- Inverted triangle: the bust is at least 3.6 in larger than the hips and less than 9 in larger than the waist.
- Rectangle: the bust and hips are within 3.6 in of each other, the waist less than 9 in smaller than the bust and less than 10 in smaller than the hips.
A figure that meets none of these rules is shown as not classified. The original technique also has diamond and oval shapes, which need more measurements than this tool asks for.
Waist-to-hip ratio
The waist-to-hip ratio is the waist divided by the hips. A WHO expert consultation found that a ratio of 0.90 or more for men and 0.85 or more for women marks a substantially increased risk of metabolic complications. The ratio is a screening measure: a doctor can tell you what it means for you.
Worked example
A bust of 36 in, a waist of 26 in, a high hip of 33 in and hips of 37 in give a bust only 1 in smaller than the hips and a waist 10 in smaller than the bust, which is an hourglass. The waist-to-hip ratio is 26 ÷ 37 = 0.70, below the WHO threshold.
Privacy
Nothing is uploaded; every calculation runs in your browser and your measurements never leave your device.
Related tools
Check your weight for your height with the BMI Calculator, estimate body fat from tape measurements with the Body Fat Calculator, or find your size with the Bra Size Calculator.
Sources
- Simmons K., Istook C.L., Devarajan P. Female Figure Identification Technique (FFIT) for apparel. Part I: Describing female shapes. Journal of Textile and Apparel, Technology and Management 2004; 4(1).
- Lee J.Y., Istook C.L., Nam Y.J., Park S.M. Comparison of body shape between USA and Korean women. International Journal of Clothing Science and Technology 2007; 19(5): 374–391.
- World Health Organization. Waist circumference and waist–hip ratio: report of a WHO expert consultation, Geneva, 8–11 December 2008 (published 2011).
Open-source credits
The calculations are implemented in-house in TypeScript, with no third-party library. They follow the published rules listed above: the FFIT for Apparel shape criteria and the WHO waist-to-hip ratio thresholds.
Frequently asked questions
Which body shape rules does the calculator use?
It uses the Female Figure Identification Technique (FFIT) for Apparel by Simmons, Istook and Devarajan (2004), with the thresholds tabulated by Lee and colleagues in 2007. The rules compare the differences between bust, waist, high hip and hips in inches and take the first shape that matches.
What is the high hip?
The high hip is the circumference around the top of the hip bones, about 10 cm (4 in) below the waist. FFIT compares it with the waist to tell a spoon shape, which has a shelf-like high hip, from a bottom hourglass.
Why is my shape not classified?
Some proportions meet none of the seven rules, for example a bust much larger than the hips with a small waist. The original technique also has diamond and oval shapes, which need more measurements than this tool asks for.
What does the waist-to-hip ratio tell me?
It is the waist divided by the hips. A WHO expert consultation found a substantially increased risk of metabolic complications at 0.90 or more for men and 0.85 or more for women. It is a screening measure only; a doctor can tell you what it means for you.
Can men use the body type calculator?
The FFIT shapes were developed from measurements of women's figures for clothing design, so the shape is most meaningful for women's clothing. The waist-to-hip ratio and its WHO threshold apply to both sexes; choose the sex to see the right threshold.