The android gynoid ratio (A/G ratio) compares the fat around your waist with the fat around your hips and thighs, as measured on a DEXA scan. A higher number means more of your fat sits in the abdominal “apple” pattern. A lower number means more sits in the lower-body “pear” pattern. Commonly cited targets are below 0.8 for women and below 1.0 for men, but they are population guides, not a diagnosis.
This guide explains where the scan draws those two regions, how the ratio is calculated, what the research links to it, why your number may not match a friend’s, and how to read it across several scans.
TL;DR
- The A/G ratio is android (waist-area) fat divided by gynoid (hip and thigh) fat, and it is the DEXA counterpart of the waist-to-hip ratio.
- Ranges often cited as favorable: below 0.8 for women, below 1.0 for men. Formal obesity thresholds for this ratio have not been established.
- Fat location may matter more for cardiometabolic health than total fat, which is why the ratio appears on many body composition reports.
- One number is a snapshot. The useful signal is the trend across scans taken under similar conditions.
Table of Contents
- What the android gynoid ratio actually measures
- Where the scan draws the regions
- How the ratio is calculated
- What is a good android gynoid ratio?
- Why fat location can matter more than fat total
- Reading your ratio across several scans
- Our perspective
- Track your ratio over time
- Practical steps if your ratio is above the typical range
- FAQ
- Sources
What the android gynoid ratio actually measures
Two regions of your body are measured separately. The android region is the abdomen. The gynoid region covers the hips and upper thighs. The ratio divides one by the other.
A 2021 review describes the A/G ratio and android fat mass as the DXA analogues of waist-to-hip ratio and waist circumference. More fat around the waist is the “apple shape”, and more around the hips is the “pear shape”. You get the same idea as a tape measure, but from a scan that looks at fat tissue directly instead of at circumference.
The ratio is not a measure of how much fat you have. Two people with the same body fat percentage can have very different A/G ratios, and that difference is the reason the number exists.
Android fat versus gynoid fat
The two depots behave differently. A 2017 review in the journal literature says that lower-body (gynoid) fat distribution is considered protective, while upper-body (android) accumulation is considered detrimental. The same review points to sex steroid hormones as important factors in how fat is distributed differently in men and women.
The CDC’s NHANES documentation puts it in disease terms: android fat deposition is associated with higher risk of cardiovascular disease, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes, while gynoid deposition is associated with lower risk.
Part of the reason is what sits in the abdomen. Android fat includes visceral fat, the kind packed between organs. Fat on the hips and thighs is mostly under the skin. If your report also lists visceral fat, read the two numbers together.
Where the scan draws the regions
You do not choose the boxes. The software places them automatically on the scan image, using bony landmarks.
In the CDC’s NHANES 2011-2012 documentation, the android area is the lower trunk area bounded below by the pelvic horizontal cut line. The upper gynoid line sits 1.5 times the android height below the pelvic line, and the lower gynoid line is placed so the gynoid box is twice the android height. All of this was placed automatically by Hologic software.
An earlier CDC file describes the android region as roughly the area around the waist between the mid-point of the lumbar spine and the top of the pelvis, and the gynoid region as lying roughly between the head of the femur and mid-thigh.
A 2024 review gives the typical definition in anatomical terms: the android region runs between the last rib and the iliac crest, and the gynoid region includes the thigh-buttock area below it. A 2020 review describes the same layout, with the gynoid region covering the gluteo-femoral area.
What this means for you: the abdomen box is not “your belly button area” in a loose sense. It is a defined band whose size scales with your torso. That keeps the measurement consistent from person to person, and it is also why positioning matters (more on that below).
How the ratio is calculated
The calculation is simple division. Many devices report the ratio as the fat mass in the android region compared with the fat mass in the gynoid region. Some reports express it as percent fat in each region instead. The International Society for Clinical Densitometry (ISCD) lists the android/gynoid percent fat mass ratio among the optional measures a DXA body composition report may include.
Here is an illustrative example, not real patient data:
| Region | Percent fat |
|---|---|
| Android (abdomen) | 30% |
| Gynoid (hips and thighs) | 38% |
| A/G ratio | 30 ÷ 38 = 0.79 |
In this example the fat is carried more in the lower body, so the ratio is under 1. A person with 40% android fat and 35% gynoid fat would have a ratio of about 1.14, meaning more fat sits around the waist than around the hips.
Check which version your report uses (mass or percent) so you compare like with like over time. Your tracker or report should label it.
What is a good android gynoid ratio?
The most quoted guide comes from UC Davis Sports Medicine, which says ideal values are believed to be less than 0.8 for women and 1.0 for men. A bigger number means more android fat, and a smaller number means more gynoid fat. The 2021 review by Minetto and colleagues uses the same cut-offs, describing an apple shape as a ratio above 1 in men and 0.8 in women.
| Men | Women | |
|---|---|---|
| Commonly cited favorable range | Below 1.0 | Below 0.8 |
| Pattern above that range | More apple-shaped (android) | More apple-shaped (android) |
| Lower numbers | More pear-shaped (gynoid) | More pear-shaped (gynoid) |
Two cautions keep these numbers in perspective.
There is no official obesity cutoff. The 2024 updated practice guideline from the International Working Group on DXA Best Practices notes that specific thresholds to define obesity have not been established for DXA adiposity measures, and that Z-scores and percentiles are appropriate report outputs when derived with the right methods. The ranges above are useful reference points, not clinical lines.
Ethnicity matters. The ISCD position statement says ethnic differences in A/G require adjustment. One US study found that Hispanic men had greater android fat percentage (29.6%) than non-Hispanic white men (23.3%), and that the android region exceeded the gynoid region in Asian and Hispanic men but not in African American and non-Hispanic white men. A generic cutoff may therefore fit some groups better than others.
So if your ratio is 0.85 and you are a woman, that is above the commonly cited 0.8 mark. It is not a diagnosis. It is a prompt to look at the rest of your report and talk with your clinician.
Why fat location can matter more than fat total
Researchers have spent years on this question. The 2024 review by Kim says DEXA variables that stand in for waist circumference and waist-to-hip ratio, such as android fat mass and the A/G ratio, are strongly associated with insulin resistance and dyslipidemia. It adds that where fat sits may be more clinically significant than how much there is.
A few findings worth knowing:
- Metabolic markers. The ISCD reports that the A/G fat mass ratio correlates with dyslipidemia in men and women and with insulin resistance in obese children and adolescents. It also notes an increased risk of myocardial infarction and mortality in women, but not men.
- Higher ratios and risk factors. A 2020 review says A/G values greater than 1 are associated with dyslipidemia, insulin resistance, impaired glucose tolerance, hypertension and related cardiovascular risk factors.
- Prediabetes. In a study of 1,184 participants, the highest quartile of A/G ratio had a 1.70 times higher prevalence of prediabetes than the lowest, though visceral fat performed slightly better as a predictor.
- Children. In 7 to 13 year olds, the ratio was closely associated with insulin resistance and LDL plus VLDL cholesterol, with stronger relationships in boys than in girls.
- Mortality. In a 2023 analysis of NHANES 2003-2007 data, moderate android fat mass and moderate gynoid fat mass had the lowest hazard ratios for all-cause mortality, and more gynoid fat looked protective in older adults and females.
These are associations in populations. They describe tendencies across thousands of people, not what will happen to you. They also come with a note from the ISCD: in some studies, the abdominal fat and A/G measurements did not perform better than waist circumference or CT. The ratio is one piece of evidence, best used next to blood pressure, lipid panels and glucose results that your clinician orders.
Reading your ratio across several scans
A single A/G ratio tells you where you are. Several tell you where you are heading, which is more useful.
What to look at
When you have two or more scans, line up these numbers side by side:
- The A/G ratio itself. Is it drifting up, down or staying flat?
- Android fat and gynoid fat separately. A ratio can fall because android fat dropped, because gynoid fat rose, or both. These are not equal stories.
- Total fat and lean mass. If lean mass dropped while the ratio improved, the change may not be what you wanted.
- Visceral fat, if reported. It gives a more direct view of the deepest abdominal fat.
Common patterns
| What you see | A reasonable reading |
|---|---|
| Ratio falls, android fat falls, lean mass stable | Fat is coming off the waist area while muscle is held |
| Ratio falls only because gynoid fat rose | Ask whether total fat also rose |
| Ratio rises, total fat flat | Fat may be redistributing toward the abdomen |
| Ratio flat, total fat falling | Fat is leaving both regions evenly, which is common |
The ratio can move less than you expect. Fat tends to come off from many places at once, so a meaningful change in the ratio may take several months of consistent effort. Our guide on how long it takes to lose 1% body fat gives a sense of realistic timelines.
Keep the conditions similar
The regions are placed by software on the image, so small differences in positioning or hydration can nudge a regional number. Where you can, repeat scans on the same type of machine, at a similar time of day, with similar food and fluid intake beforehand, and ask for the same position each time. Small movements in a single ratio between two scans are better read as a possible trend only if later scans confirm it. Your scan provider can tell you how much change on their device counts as real.
Our perspective
We built Dexa.Report because the A/G ratio is exactly the kind of number that is easy to print and hard to use. It sits in a table on page two of a PDF, next to a dozen other values, with no context. Most people see it once and never think about it again.
What makes the ratio meaningful is time. The research is clear that fat distribution matters, and it is equally clear that cutoffs are population guides rather than verdicts. That is why we think the right question is not “is my number good?” but “which way is my number moving, and why?”
Upload a PDF from any clinic and the ratio, android fat, gynoid fat, lean mass and visceral fat are lined up on one dashboard, with side-by-side scan comparisons and plain-language summaries. There is no manual data entry, and you are not tied to the provider who ran the scan. Your data is stored in the EU and is accessible only by you.
If you want to understand your body composition, we think the best habit is simple: keep every report, and look at the trend.
Dexa.Report Team
Track your ratio over time
If you already have one or more DEXA PDFs, you can turn them into a trend. Dexa.Report reads the scan report from any clinic and builds a dashboard of body composition, fat distribution, bone density, muscle mass and visceral fat, with scan-to-scan comparisons and CSV export.
Pricing is on the pricing page: your first scan is €0, each additional scan is €9.90 one-off, unlimited scans are €19.90 per year, and unlimited scans for life are a single €99.90 payment. You can start on the Dexa.Report home page.
New to the report itself? Our guide to what a DEXA scan measures walks through each line, and how a DEXA scan works covers the technology behind it.
Practical steps if your ratio is above the typical range
The research above does not give a prescription for lowering the ratio specifically, and we will not invent one. What most clinicians advise for abdominal fat is the same set of basics that benefit overall health: regular physical activity, resistance training to keep lean mass, adequate sleep, and a sustainable eating pattern.
What to do with the number:
- Bring the full report to your next primary care or endocrinology visit, and ask how the ratio fits with your blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose values.
- Mention it especially if you are a woman with a ratio above 0.8 or a man above 1.0, or if you have a family history of diabetes or heart disease.
- Set a re-scan interval with your clinician rather than rescanning often. Changes in regional fat take months, not weeks.
- If you are on weight-loss medication or a new training plan, scan before you start so you have a baseline.
If you also care about bone health, the same scan reports it. Our pieces on DEXA T-scores and bone density after menopause cover those numbers.
FAQ
What is a good android to gynoid ratio?
Commonly cited favorable values are below 0.8 for women and below 1.0 for men, according to UC Davis Sports Medicine. No formal obesity threshold has been set for this ratio, and ethnic differences require adjustment, so treat these as guides and discuss your result with your clinician.
What is the difference between android fat and gynoid fat?
Android fat is stored around the waist and abdomen, the “apple” pattern. Gynoid fat is stored around the hips and thighs, the “pear” pattern. Reviews describe lower-body fat as protective and upper-body fat as detrimental for cardiometabolic health.
Is the android gynoid ratio the same as waist-to-hip ratio?
Not exactly, but it is the DXA counterpart. It compares fat mass in two scanned regions, while waist-to-hip ratio compares tape measurements. A 2021 review calls the A/G ratio the analogue of waist-to-hip ratio, which is why the two are interpreted in a similar way.
Can the ratio change if my body fat stays the same?
Yes. Because the ratio compares two regions, fat can shift between them while the total stays flat. That is why reading android fat, gynoid fat and total fat together across scans is more informative than watching the ratio alone.
Sources
- DXA-Derived Adiposity and Lean Indices for Management of Cardiometabolic Health (Minetto et al., 2021)
- Sex-dependent Depot Differences in Adipose Tissue (Lee and Fried, 2017)
- CDC NHANES 2005-2006 DXXAG_D documentation
- CDC NHANES 2011-2012 DXXAG_G documentation
- Use of dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry for body composition (Kim, 2024)
- Body composition with dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (Messina et al., 2020)
- DXA body composition analysis, UC Davis Sports Medicine
- Official Positions of the International Society for Clinical Densitometry (2013)
- Updated practice guideline for dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (2024)
- DXA estimates of fat in abdominal, trunk and hip regions (Stults-Kolehmainen et al., 2013)
- Importance of Android/Gynoid Fat Ratio in Predicting Metabolic Risk in Children (Samsell et al., 2014)
- Android fat mass, gynoid fat mass and mortality (Ma et al., 2023)
- Anthropometric and DXA-derived measures of body composition and prediabetes