For decades, the Body Mass Index (BMI) has been relied on as THE tool for measuring relative fat levels in a person’s body, and providing their weight status (very severely underweight, severely underweight, underweight, normal, overweight, obese class 1, obese class 2, or obese class 3). However, several health experts and scientists have questioned the validity of such a measurement, as such a blunt classification does not take into account a person’s bone density or muscle mass, which results in many people being classified as overweight or obese when they really aren’t.
The overall BMI number also does not take into consideration how much abdominal fat is being carried by a person, also known as visceral adipose tissue (VAT). Because of this, the BMI index can classify someone as being normal or even underweight, when really the extra weight they are carrying in their mid-section is putting them at risk for health issues.
As people gain excess weight, depending on their body type, this can be stored in the abdominal area around internal organs. Fat stored in the “extremities” such as arms or legs is considered subcutaneous fat, and it behaves differently in the body. Abdominal fat, however, is the dangerous fat that is linked to a higher risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and breast cancer in women. It has also been connected to an increased risk of dementia, and overall a shorter lifespan.
Physiologists at Leeds Beckett University in the United Kingdom set out to find a more accurate measurement of an individual’s overall health. They measured the actual body fat and composition in 81 people using a total body scanner, then compared the results against the commonly used tools to predict body fat and obesity, including BMI, WHtR (Waist to Height Ratio), waist circumference, and waist to hip ratio.
Relying on BMI alone, only one in seven of the participants would have been classified as obese in terms of their whole body fat, whereas according to the WHtR, the more accurate figure of one in two, or half the participants would meet the threshold as being obese. WHtR more accurately measured the abdominal fat in men and women, and was a more accurate indicator of overall health. (Waist to hip ratio was the weakest formula of the bunch).
Using the WHtR, the cutoff for predicting whole body obesity was found to be .53 in men and .54 in women, while a ratio of .59 and above indicated abdominal obesity in both men and women. In a separate research study, it was found the risk of developing diabetes and cardiovascular disease began to rise with WHtR above .50. It was also found to be a more accurate way of predicting life expectancy.
Curious what your numbers are? You can quickly calculate it here: http://www.medindia.net/patients/calculators/waist-height-ratio.asp How did your numbers stack up? We’d love to hear from you!
Image by mohamed Hassan from Pixabay