Monday, May 17, 2010

Waist to Height Ratio vs BMI

If anyone has ever calculated her BMI, which only takes into account one's height and weight, it may have been frustrating that the BMI ignores gender and muscle mass. These factors make a huge difference in a person's perceived health. I'm sure we've all seen some female trainers at the gym who look rather thick because they are SOLID MUSCLE! If we look at these women's BMIs, they may border on the obese categorization, which is ridiculous.

Review this article about the Waist to Height Ratio: http://www.livestrong.com/article/93638-whtr-the-new-determinant-health-risk/. This hopefully will replace the BMI, as it more accurately calculates a person's health. Apparently the most dangerous area to carry one's weight is in the waist, which is why this measurement is more useful. This is unfortunate for those of us who happen to gain weight first in the waist region ("No I'm not pregnant; I just look like it when I gain weight!"). There is some wiggle room, though. There are more categorizations, such as basically 3 ranges of healthy weights, one for underweight, and 3 ranges for overweight. This at least feels better to look at than the BMI chart, in which one is either healthy or one of 3 labels for overweight.

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