The main benefit of using FMI and FFMI is that unlike BMI calculation and body fat percentage, a change in muscle will not affect the FMI and a change in body fat will not affect the FFMI.įMI is calculated by dividing the Fat Mass in Kilograms by the square of the height (in metres).Ī body composition analysis is required to obtained an accurate reading of Body Fat Mass for this method. The FMI can also be categorised into separate male and female charts. Comparing the level of just body fat and lean mass relative to height yields calculations called the Fat Mass Index (FMI) and Fat Free Mass Index (FFMI). Jocelyn Wynd, the director and founder of Melbourne Body Composition Analysis, believes that the most accurate way of assessing levels of obesity and health is by splitting the BMI into a fat portion and a lean portion via body composition analysis. The benefit of this measure is that it looks at your fat placement around the midsection which often can be the most cause for concern. According to the World Health Organisation, this measurement should be no more than 0.85 for women and 0.9 for men. Waist to hip ratio, the ratio of waist measurement compared to that of the hip measurement, has been argued by many to be a much better alternative than BMI. The inaccuracy of BMI has led many to try to develop far more accurate measurements of obesity. The lower right quadrant represents those tested with a BMI in the overweight and obese categories while Percent Body Fat is less than the upper normal range value of 20% for men and 28% for women.Īlso take note of the upper left quadrant where the BMI is considered in the normal range (less than 25) yet the body fat percentages are above the normal range, even as high as 35% for one male and a staggering 43% for one female. In the following BMI charts comparing measured BMI with Body Fat Percentage results for males and females, each dot represents a single individual. The BMI for men is the same as the BMI for women with both being represented on a single BMI chart despite obvious physical differences. Body fat stored Viscerally (around the organs) is the most dangerous of all types of fat.Īnother problem with BMI is the lack of differentiation between male and female results. Some individuals have skinny legs and carry most of their fat around their waist, while others may have the same amount of fat, but spread more evenly around the body. One of these males is very healthy, while the other is not, despite having the same BMI.īMI also fall short as it doesn’t measure or take into account the location on the body where fat is stored. Take for example two males with the same height and weight and thus same BMI, one who works out regularly and has high level of muscle and very low body fat, the other leads a sedentary lifestyle and has a high level of body fat and low level of muscle. With no distinction between fat or muscle, levels of each can fluctuate wildly and have no overall effect on BMI. This means that many fit, athletic, muscular people are incorrectly labeled as “overweight” by their BMI. There are many reasons why BMI is a poor measure of health, but one of the main ones is that BMI can’t distinguish between body fat and muscle. That's about 15 percent of Americans who are classified as very obese." More than 2 million people who are considered "very obese" by virtue of having a BMI of 35 or higher are actually healthy. In 2016 a study by UCLA concluded that "close to half of Americans who are considered "overweight" by virtue of their BMIs (47.4 percent, or 34.4 million people) are healthy, as are 19.8 million who are considered "obese."" The study also found that "More than 30 percent of those with BMI's in the "normal" range - about 20.7 million people - are actually unhealthy based on their other health data. Protected Sub ButtonClear_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles ButtonClear.Should we be using the BMI calculator today as a measure of health and obesity levels? The simple answer is a resounding NO. If Result = 18.5 Or Result = 25 Or Result = 30 Then Protected Sub ButtonCalculate_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles ButtonCalculate.Clickĭim Result As Double = (Weight * 703) / (Height * Height)
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |