![]() The World Health Organization (opens in new tab) recommends a waist circumference at or below 31.5 inches for women and at or below 37 inches for men. ![]() Do it twice to be sure you have the right result.Make sure it is horizonal, snug, and flat, and not digging into your skin.Stand and place a tape measure around your middle, just above your hip bones.This is the jiggly fat you can pinch with your fingers. The other main kind of belly fat is called subcutaneous fat and is found under your skin. Visceral belly fat (the stuff deep in the abdomen that surrounds your internal organs, such as your liver) has been linked to an increased risk of high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease. Your waist circumference is a good measure of your level of body fat in general and abdominal fat, in particular. So, while the correlation between BMI and body fat is strong - as Harvard School of Public Health noted, ‘For most people, BMI is a very good gauge of their level of body fat.’ (opens in new tab) – it may also be useful to measure your waist circumference to get an idea of the risk, if any, associated with your weight. It is also worth remembering that women tend to have more body fat than men. And there is strong evidence that healthy upper limits vary depending on ethnicity. Also, the measurement cannot assess where fat is in the body (fat stored around the belly presents a greater health risk than fat stored in the butt, for example). For example, a person with a lot of muscle may be classed as overweight and an athlete will have less body fat than a non-athlete who has the same BMI. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said the correlation between BMI and body fatness is fairly strong (opens in new tab). Generally speaking, if your BMI isīelow 18.5, you are in the underweight categoryġ8.5–24.9, you are in the healthy weight categoryĢ5–29.9, you are in the overweight categoryĪbove 30, you are in the obese category How useful is BMI? You just enter your height and weight to get the result. The National Institutes of Health has a BMI calculator (opens in new tab) that is easy to use. It simply suggests a healthy weight range for a certain height. It divides adults into broad categories and is quite reliable, but it gives only a rough estimate of body fat and does not tell you how much (if any) excess fat you are carrying. This is a method that uses your height and weight to find out if you are a healthy weight. How to measure body fat: What is body mass index (BMI)? BMI measurements are used by clinicians, and it has been argued that waist circumference ought to be obtained in medical practice as a matter of routine (opens in new tab). ![]() If you want to self-assess your levels of body fat, you can calculate your body mass index (BMI) and/or measure your waist circumference. However, as a study published in the journal Nutrients noted, given the simplicity and reliability of the calipers method, perhaps the time has come to say, ‘Come back skinfolds, all is forgiven.’ (opens in new tab) What else can I do? Some of the best smart scales also promise to give you an accurate body fat reading these days. Several high-tech techniques of measurement have also been developed to measure body composition, including (stay with us), hydrodensitometry, air displacement plethysmography, bioelectrical impedance analysis and spectroscopy, ultra-sound, and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). It’s a simple method but best used by a professional. Measurements are taken from several sites on the body (often eight) to ascertain the overall percentage of body fat. The best known method is to use skinfold calipers, which have been with us for decades. There are many ways to learn how much body fat you have, but not all are easily accessible and some are expensive. (Image credit: Shutterstock) How can I calculate my body fat percentage?
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