Normal weight, overweight and morbidly obese are often measured by BMI scale. But the BMI categorization is an oversimplified formula based on height and weight. It doesn’t give us any information about muscle mass, fat mass or more importantly where that fat is being stored.
Where we store fat is pretty damn important. Fat storage in the abdominal region is far worse for you compared to fat stored anywhere else in the body.
BMI also doesn’t tell us anything about visceral fat. Visceral fat is the worrying stuff that is stored inside your abdominal cavity and around your internal organs. Too much VF often leads to insulin resistance and, generally speaking, carking it in an assortment of unpleasant ways.
Dr. Philip Maffetone is an internationally recognised researcher, educator, clinician and author and his research team believe that a person who’s not obese or even overweight may well still have high levels of unhealthy body fat. Overfatness is without a doubt a sign or at the very least a predictor of soon to be health problems.
So, what is this 1 minute method of measuring your fat?
If the circumference of your waist (inches) measures more than half your height (inches) then you are overfat.
Pretty simple BUT the research on it is pretty compelling.
I’ll take myself as an example
On a good day I’m 6ft – that’s 72 inches. Half of that is 36 inches
What’s my waist measurement (to be clear a waist measurement is actually a “belly button line” measurement)
For me that’s 34 inches (make sure you stay relaxed – no sucking your gut in like you’re on a beach and a group of ladies just walked past)
So, if the circumference of your waist measures more than half your height… You’re overfat !!
How to use this info
The research is pretty clear – excess fat stored around the belly is bad news. If you fall into the overfat category then get in touch with www.personal-trainers.co.nz We are here to help.
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