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Body Mass Index vs. Waist to Hip Ratio

Posted in Diet & Nutrition on August 25th, 2006 by Paul

Body mass index (BMI) is a simple way to measure body fat using your height and weight as a basis for the calculation. BMI measurements have long been considered the standard indicator to determine if someone is overweight. BMI is typically used to screen for weight categories that may lead to health problems and determine the risk of disease and death.

It is common knowledge that BMI can give a skewed result for body builders and other athletes with a muscular build. These people have extra weight due to the large amounts of muscle mass on their bodies. Conversely, BMI can underestimate the results for elderly people because older people have lost so much muscle mass. BMI works best when used to study a large segment of the population and clearly a better calculation is needed.

A new measurement for obesity is now available that proves to be a better, more informative way to determine if you are overweight. This new measurement is called the waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) and uses the ratio of the circumference of the waist and the circumference of the hips to measure body fat. This method is considered a better measurement because it considers the amount of belly fat.

I am six feet tall and weigh 170 lbs. After running the BMI calculation on myself I determine that my BMI is 23.1. Using the chart below I can determine that my weight is within the normal range for adults of my height.

BMI Categories
Underweight = <18.5
Normal weight = 18.5-24.9
Overweight = 25-29.9
Obesity = BMI of 30 or greater

Next I ran the WHR measurement to see how that compares to BMI. My waist is 33″ and my hips are 38″ which gives me a waist to hip ratio of 0.87. A healthy waist-to-hip ratio for men is 0.95.

Calculate your own BMI  and WHR and determine for yourself if either of these calculations really matter. Personally, I think looking in the mirror is a good way to determine if I am overweight.

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One Response to “Body Mass Index vs. Waist to Hip Ratio”

  1. Why everyone should care about Triglycerides | Healthy Reader Says:
    September 26th, 2006 at 7:12 pm

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