According to recent news, living with excess weight increases the risk of Covid-19. However is there still too much emphasis on BMI (Body Mass Index)
🔴 What is BMI?
For decades, official guidance has decreed that the way to find out if you’re a healthy weight is by measuring your BMI. The calculation takes into account your height and weight, and then tells you whether you're underweight, healthy, overweight or obese.
🔴Why is BMI flawed?
There are a several reasons why BMI isn’t as accurate a measure of health as many of us were brought up to believe, but one of the main ones is that BMI can’t distinguish between fat and muscle.
🔴Body Composition
Another problem with BMI is that it doesn’t measure or take into account where on the body fat is carried. One person could have skinny legs and carry a lot of fat around their middle, whilst another could have the same amount of fat spread around their body.
🔴Waist to hip ratio
This has led many people to argue that a far more important measurement is your hip to waist ratio. According to the World Health Organisation, this should be no more than 0.85 for women and 0.9 for men.
It’s crucial to look at where your fat is placed, as too much around the midsection is cause for concern.
🔴Ditch the scales
Unless you have high tech scales which check muscle, fat and hydration then don’t weigh yourself! It’s soul destroying and creates very unhealthy habits... weight fluctuates, particularly for women around their menstrual cycle.
