The national rise in obesity have led researchers to examine how it is related to diseases like diabetes. Because the measurement of total weight gives little information as to actual body composition, methods such as bioelectrical impedance (BIA), performed underwater or by special monitors/analyzers, and measurements taken by skinfold calipers were developed. But not all methods of measuring body fat require specialized equipment. Let’s look at two others ways. They’re simple and easily done at home: 

Waist Measurement

If you are a man and your tape measure shows a waist size of over 40 inches, that’s an indication of increased health risk for diseases like common heart diseases and diabetes; in women, that would be a waist size of over 35 inches.

Waist measurement can be used together with other measurements like BIA or Body Mass Index to assess your status. Waist size is an indication of visceral fat, which is located around vital organs. Subcutaneous fat, which lies just beneath the skin, is the type of fat that is measured by skinfold calipers.

Higher amounts of visceral fat predominate in the upper half of the body, resulting in an “apple” shape. Individuals whose fat is stored predominantly below the waist, have a “pear” shape, and are thought to be at lower risk for fat-related diseases.

BMI – Body Mass Index

This measurement is considered to be one of the simplest and best for assessing overweight. It is low-cost, low-tech, and easy. There are also many websites that will calculate BMI for you after figures for weight and height are entered. Of course, you can do the calculations yourself, using the following formula:

BMI   =  [             Weight in pounds_____  ]    x 703

      (Height in inches) x (Height in inches)   

Any adult with a BMI of over 25, regardless of gender or age, is considered to be overweight. For children aged 2-20 years, BMI is correlated to both age and gender (more information is available at the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics  www..cdc.gov/nchs

A higher BMI doesn’t necessarily mean excessively fat, but it has been shown that the risk of disease is proportional to higher BMIs. A more complete assessment can be obtained by using a more direct measurement for body fat, in conjunction with BMI.