Waist–hip 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″ () waist and 38″ () hips has a waist-hip ratio of about 0.78.
U.S. standard clothing size
As this was largely successful in men, the same approach was attempted in the early 20th century for women using the bust as the sole measurement . However, this proved unsuccessful because women's bodies have far more variety in shape. The hourglass figure is frequently used as an industry standard, but only 8% of women have this body shape . A woman with an hourglass figure and a woman with an apple-shaped figure who have the same bust size will not have the same waist or hip sizes.