BMI / FAT - New Calculation
 

Here is a link to the new measure of health based on waist to height.

http://www.livestrong.com/article/93...t-health-risk/

I like this approach. Makes me think I am healthier than BMI calc.

I'll continue to rely on my old standbys -- RHR, BP, LDL/HDL/trig.

I am a little suspicious. Using this calculation pro cyclists and super models are suddenly in the same healthy classification?

this is either good news or bad news. hah.... bike riders are just as unhealthy as super models? don't think so. I'd like to see a few super models on the Tour de France.... that would surely liven things up? eh?

Interesting... I do not pay much attention to BMI or this type of metric. FYI. I am 72 inches tall with a 32 waist which gives me 44 which equates to healthy. I do own a pair of 31 waist Italian pants that fit although a little tight in the thighs.:D

I'm 6' with a 34" waist making me a 47 @ Healthy, Normal Weight. I wasn't aware that "normal" means being lean enough to see abdominal muscles.

From a "cardiovascular risk and mortality" standpoint, yes, they are in the same classification.

The study cited doesn't claim it's an indicator of "health", just how likely it is that you'll cack out form a heart attack or stroke.

Me too, at first blush, since I come in at "Ratio 46 to 53: Healthy, Normal Weight". My BMI is 28 which is "Overweight". However, for me I have to admit that I can tell when I'm getting beyond the Normal limit of 25. Much above that and I don't feel as well as I feel below 25.

I would think BMI would also classify them together.

I am 6'3" with a 34" waist and am healthy. The same description if I have a 38" waist. Way too soft.

+1

You'd get a kick out of the book "Fat Politics", a non pc argument that the anti fat industry is making a lot of money.

I'd think that the folks in this forum that are riding their bikes as much as possible are pretty healthy..........beyond that, at the age of 64 (almost) I'm not going to slave myself to anyone's numbers. I come in on this new calc as normal as well, but I'm beginning to look like my German brewmeister relatives in lederhosen.

Ride on.

It probably is close enough that it's still in the healthy category. Is waist size versus height a better factor then BMI, yeah, probably. However, I knew a guy who probably fit into the slim category, that had a cholesterol so high that his doctor immediately put him on meds for it. Me, I've been on the heavy side for over 30 years, yet my doctor runs the blood tests, looks at the numbers and says, everything is well within spec. so who is the unhealthy one?

It's too bad that the article doesn't tell you exactly where to measure your waist. In the old days, they used to tell you to measure around your smallest part, but nowadays, people like Dr. Oz (cardiologist), say to measure right around your belly button. Many people try to measure just below their protruding belly. (You know how some people just slide their belt/pants lower to be able to fit into their "regular" pant size.)

If you see any belly fat in the mirror, take action to get rid of it. I suppose if blood tests are okay, one may be out of the woods even if there is some belly fat, but I would not risk it.

http://www.ghi.com/Article.aspx?page=118501

How Does Belly Fat Harm You?

Belly fat doesn't just lay idle at your beltline. Researchers describe it as an active "organ" in your body -- one that churns out hormones and inflammatory substances.

"Abdominal fat is thought to break down easily into fatty acids, which flow directly into the liver and into muscle," says Lewis Kuller, MD, DPH, professor and past chair of epidemiology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health.

When these excess fatty acids drain into the liver, they trigger a chain reaction of changes -- increasing the production of LDL 'bad' cholesterol and triglycerides. During this time insulin can also become less effective in controlling blood sugar, so insulin resistance sets in, he explains.

Blood sugars start to get out of balance. Fats and clots get into the bloodstream, and that sets the stage for diabetes, heart disease, and more.

And research shows that abdominal fat triggers a change in angiotensin, a hormone that controls blood vessel constriction -- increasing the risk of high blood pressure, stroke, and heart attack, Kuller explains.

Indeed, belly fat is a key indicator of "metabolic syndrome," a cluster of abnormalities that include high levels of blood sugar, blood pressure, and triglycerides, as well as low levels of "good" HDL cholesterol. This combination of risks has an impact on mortality from heart disease.

+1

35" waist, 5'11" = Healthy. My dr. thinks so too. I would still like to loose a bit more belly fat though....

This kind of matches my favorite fitness gauge - the holes in my belt.

I knew my measurements would put the caculator in haywire mood. :D

I am a super ectomorph packed with muscle. 6'3" at 135 lbs.

A strange and rare combination.

With my measurements the caculator came up wth 4.01 body fat. I think I am lower than that. I would say around 3% body fat if not lower.

At the gym peeps be claiming I am zero body fat. Hitting the gym 6 days a week keeps me healthy, although sight unseen, my measurments would describe a walking skeleton. :lol: