# Waist to Hip Ratio? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 18, 2004, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waist-to-hip-ratio/275493 "2004-11-18T17:39:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Katriona](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/katriona/32/113_2.png) [@Katriona](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Katriona)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2004, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waist-to-hip-ratio/275493/1 "2004-11-18T17:39:47Z")
I’m hoping to get a kilt in one of my family tartans for Christmas, so I looked on the supplier’s website to see what measurements were required. Waist, no problem, hip, no problem, but what is the waist-to-hip ratio, and how do I measure that? My only D in school came from Home Ec, so while I’m sure this is pretty basic and was covered, well… ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2004, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waist-to-hip-ratio/275493/2 "2004-11-18T17:52:14Z")
The waist to hip ratio is found by divinding the waist measurement by the hip measurement and multiplying by 100. So if your waist is 28 and your hip is 38, your waist to hip ratio is (28/38) X 100 or roughly 74%. Their drop down menu may have the numbers in decimals (before multiplying by 100) so it might say 0.736 A kilt maker needs this number to determne the shape and placement of the pleats in the kilt. However, if you give them your waist and hip measurements, they can figure out the ratio themselves. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2004, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waist-to-hip-ratio/275493/3 "2004-11-18T17:55:21Z")
Technically speaking, **WhyNot** is incorrect–your waist-to-hip ratio is your waist measurement divided by your hip measurement. Multiplying that by 100 will tell you what percentage of your hip measurement your waist measurement is. But his method is correct, and practically speaking, that’s all that matters here. ---
**Author:** ![aahala](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a88e4f/32.png) [@aahala](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aahala)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2004, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waist-to-hip-ratio/275493/4 "2004-11-18T18:00:41Z")
> [@Katriona](#): > > My only D in school came from Home Ec, so while I’m sure this is pretty basic and was covered, well… Didn’t take math, eh? Or was that the incomplete.😃 ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2004, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waist-to-hip-ratio/275493/5 "2004-11-18T18:01:19Z")
> [@ultrafilter](#): > > Technically speaking, **WhyNot** is incorrect–your waist-to-hip ratio is your waist measurement divided by your hip measurement. Multiplying that by 100 will tell you what percentage of your hip measurement your waist measurement is. But his method is correct, and practically speaking, that’s all that matters here. Of course you’re right. Dressmakers (and I’m assuming kilt makers) do it in percent form. It gives us the same numbers as our tools have printed on them! ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2004, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waist-to-hip-ratio/275493/6 "2004-11-18T18:15:48Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Of course you’re right. Dressmakers (and I’m assuming kilt makers) do it in percent form. It gives us the same numbers as our tools have printed on them! Interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2004, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waist-to-hip-ratio/275493/7 "2004-11-18T19:08:09Z")
Hyjack, what website are you getting the kilt from? Hyjack2, does anyone know how to make a real kilt from the uncut Tartan? ---
**Author:** ![Katriona](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/katriona/32/113_2.png) [@Katriona](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Katriona)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2004, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waist-to-hip-ratio/275493/8 "2004-11-18T19:18:29Z")
> [@aahala](#): > > Didn’t take math, eh? Or was that the incomplete.😃 Something like that - hence the English degree! ---
**Author:** ![Katriona](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/katriona/32/113_2.png) [@Katriona](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Katriona)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2004, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waist-to-hip-ratio/275493/9 "2004-11-18T19:22:25Z")
> [@Bippy the Beardless](#): > > Hyjack, what website are you getting the kilt from? > Hyjack2, does anyone know how to make a real kilt from the uncut Tartan? I’m getting mine from a local shop here in the KC area. Is it OK to post links to that kind of thing? I’m also on a mailing list for a catalog that does them, but they’re more expensive. I’ve seen someone demo rolling himself into the great kilt, but couldn’t re-create or describe it if my life depended on it. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2004, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waist-to-hip-ratio/275493/10 "2004-11-18T19:39:10Z")
> [@Bippy the Beardless](#): > > Hyjack, what website are you getting the kilt from? > Hyjack2, does anyone know how to make a real kilt from the uncut Tartan? [Here’s simple directions](http://www.garbtheworld.com/pgs/foldkilt.html), with pictures of a strapping lad. I’m assuming that the OP was referring to a [sewn pleated kilt](http://www.garbtheworld.com/items/g0028.shtml), as “real” kilts are simply 7 yards of 60 inch wide fabric, one size fits everybody, and waist and hip measurements are moot. ---
**Author:** ![Katriona](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/katriona/32/113_2.png) [@Katriona](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Katriona)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2004, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waist-to-hip-ratio/275493/11 "2004-11-18T20:25:13Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > [Here’s simple directions](http://www.garbtheworld.com/pgs/foldkilt.html), with pictures of a strapping lad. > > I’m assuming that the OP was referring to a [sewn pleated kilt](http://www.garbtheworld.com/items/g0028.shtml), as “real” kilts are simply 7 yards of 60 inch wide fabric, one size fits everybody, and waist and hip measurements are moot. Heh - yeah, I guess I should have specified that it’s actually a kilted skirt, since, as I’m often reminded, “WOMEN DON’T WEAR KILTS!” ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2004, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waist-to-hip-ratio/275493/12 "2004-11-18T20:52:01Z")
> [@Katriona](#): > > Heh - yeah, I guess I should have specified that it’s actually a kilted skirt, since, as I’m often reminded, “WOMEN DON’T WEAR KILTS!” Sweetie, don’t worry about it. [Neither did the historic Scotsman](http://members.aol.com/SconeMac/kilt.html). But I’ve stopped trying to correct people of that erroneous notion. \*Braveheart \* was just too much for damage control. ---
**Author:** ![Futile\_Gesture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f05b48/32.png) [@Futile\_Gesture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Futile_Gesture)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2004, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waist-to-hip-ratio/275493/13 "2004-11-18T21:45:13Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Sweetie, don’t worry about it. [Neither did the historic Scotsman](http://members.aol.com/SconeMac/kilt.html). But I’ve stopped trying to correct people of that erroneous notion. \*Braveheart \* was just too much for damage control. It’s a pity you illustrated your point from that web site. Apart from it being a hidious mess and guilty of image and midi abuse, it contains as much romanticised clap-trap as it claims to dispel. And it has a ‘Tribute To Braveheart’ that would make a dog laugh. A more factual source of information can be found at [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilt). ---
**Author:** ![Katriona](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/katriona/32/113_2.png) [@Katriona](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Katriona)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2004, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waist-to-hip-ratio/275493/14 "2004-11-18T22:24:53Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Sweetie, don’t worry about it. [Neither did the historic Scotsman](http://members.aol.com/SconeMac/kilt.html). But I’ve stopped trying to correct people of that erroneous notion. \*Braveheart \* was just too much for damage control. Good point - I remember how devastated I was when I learned that ‘my’ tartans more than likely don’t date back beyond Queen Victoria’s “I Made All Things Scottish Trendy” phase! Although we still like to claim that Burberry knocked us off (Thomson Camel). ---
**Author:** ![Roches](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bc8723/32.png) [@Roches](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roches)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2004, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waist-to-hip-ratio/275493/15 "2004-11-18T22:48:41Z")
Not that the math is terribly difficult, but there’s a waist-to-hip ratio calculator [here](http://www.healthstatus.com/calculate/whr). Aside from being useful in tailoring kilts, the waist-to-hip ratio has been correlated with decreased risk of cardiovascular disease in people with WHR less than 1. People with WHR greater than one tend to store more fat on their abdomen than on their hips or in other places, which means they have more visceral fat (fat inside the abdominal cavity), which may put undue stress on the cardiovascular system if their body mass ratio is outside the healthy range. ---
**Author:** ![Roches](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bc8723/32.png) [@Roches](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roches)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2004, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waist-to-hip-ratio/275493/16 "2004-11-18T22:50:25Z")
Katriona: [No true Scotswoman](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_true_Scotsman) wears a kilt. =) ---
**Author:** ![coffeecat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coffeecat/32/3405_2.png) [@coffeecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coffeecat)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2004, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waist-to-hip-ratio/275493/17 "2004-11-18T23:53:34Z")
From **Futile Gesture** ’s [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilt) link: > [@](#): > > In battle it was usual to take off the kilt beforehand and set it aside, the Highland charge being made wearing only the _leine_ [shirt]. I picture this done by _Monty Python_, or maybe that little-known couples film, _Duncan Does Glascow_.