HOW IS OBESITY MEASURED?

 

Your bathroom scale may give you a measure of your weight and help you follow changes in your weight, but it is not the best way to determine if you are overweight or obese, or at risk for developing obesity and its related health conditions. Other measurements can help you find out more about your body composition.

Obesity is often expressed in terms of Body Mass Index (BMI). A BMI of 30 or more in males and 28.6 or more in females indicates obesity [Body mass index = Weight (kg) / height2 (m)]

1. Body Mass Index (BMI):

BMI is a number based on both your height and weight. It can help you determine the degree to which you may be overweight and gives a reasonable assessment of total body fat for the general population.

Knowing your BMI is important for you and your family. It correlates better with health conditions like heart disease and type 2 diabetes than does weight itself. BMI is not perfect. Some people, like athletes, may measure a high BMI but have more muscles than fat.

REGIONAL FAT DISTRIBUTION               

Fat mass distribution is different in men and women. The android or apple shaped obesity commonly observed in males is characterized by fat distribution predominantly in the upper part of the body above the waist, whereas the gynoid or pear shaped obesity seen in females, shows fat predominantly in the lower part of the body that is lower abdomen, buttocks, hips and thighs.

Fat cells from the upper part of the body seem to be functionally different from fat cells in the lower part. Abdominal or android fatness carries a greater risk for hypertension, cardiovascular disease, hyperinsulinemia, diabetes mellitus, gallbladder disease and stroke. It also carries a greater risk of overall mortality. It is primarily due to hypertrophy (increase in the size of fat cell) of existing cells, whereas lower body fat deposition is by hyperplasias (increase in the number of fat cells). Reducing the enlarged fat cell to normal size is easier rather than reducing the increased number of cell to normal.

METHODS TO ACCESS OBESITY

1. Body weight - If a man is more than 10% (15% for women) std weight he is obese.

2. Broca index - Ht (cm) minus 100. For example, if a person's height is 160 cm then ideal weight is 60kg.

3. Body Mass Index

BMI = Weight in kg/height₂ (m)

4. Measurement of body fat: skinfold callipers are used to measure total body subcutaneous tissue.

5. Waist to hip ratio: >0.35 (females) and 1.0 (males) is associated with obesity.

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN BMI AND HEIGHT/WEIGHT TABLES:

Height/Weight Tables identify an ideal weight range for each height, and BMI uses cutpoints (Table 1) for you to identify if you are at a healthy weight, overweight, obese or severely obese, based on your height.

·         Unlike the tables, BMI corresponds generally to measurements of body fat.

·         Height/Weight Tables are not designed to predict disease risk, but BMI can. The higher the BMI, the higher your risk of developing certain diseases associated with obesity.

·         Medical researchers often use BMI, not height/ Weight tables, when studying the effects of body weight on health.

·         There is one BMI chart used for adult men, women who are not pregnant and generally for all racial/ethnic groups. There are separate Height/Weight Tables for men and women.

                                                              

BODY FAT ANALYSER

It is a machine which measures the total body fat at the same time it gives you your weight. Here is how it works:

After you have input your age, height and sex, a barely-detectable quantity of electricity passes through your legs by means of the sensor electrodes imbedded on the scale platform.

It measures the total volume of water and consequently, the quantity of your muscles and thin tissues (contrary to fat, muscles contain very little water). The difference between your weight and the quantity of thin tissues tells you the volume of body fat; when it's extrapolated to your entire body, it calculates your fat percentage. The level of the results is indicated by the curser on the screen, which gives you a comparison to the average expected. not recommended for people with implants or pacemakers.

WHAT IS A MONODIET?                                   

A Monodiet means consuming only one kind of food at a meal and that particular food is not repeated continuously. When a person eats only one food in a meal instead of having 2-3 varieties there is a version towards the food. A person feels unsatisfied after eating a meal, most of the time there is a feeling of hunger long after. Moreover the concept of having one food is not right in itself as a single kind of food will not meet the body's need for different nutrients. And it is not necessary that a particular food will be having all kinds of nutrients in right proportion. In no way it is possible for a single food to have all the nutrients. So, variety in diet is a must.

                                                                     

Hope you liked this blog!

This article is written by Dr. Bimal Chhajer (India's best Heart doctor)