Right from the day it was designed (In the early 1800’s), the Body Mass Index has been limited.
It was supposed to be a way to calculate and ideal weight for your height..if you moved above or below the ‘optimal’ range you were considered to be ‘less healthy’
However, its shortcomings are very apparent. It’s a tough equation (Your weight in KG divided by your height in meters squared), it doesn’t account for people with higher than average lean mass, and its ability to predict health is often disputed.
So if the BMI is confusing and doesn’t really tell us what we want to know, what else can we use?
Here is a simple, simple equation – your waist circumference should be no more that half your height.
Simple, easy and effective.
So for me, at a generous 5 foot 11 or (71 inches) my waist should be no more than 71 divided by 2, or 35.5 inches.
The great thing about this equation is that it is inline with a lot of the aesthetics research that shows that a man’s body is aesthetically pleasing when the waist circumference is just a little below 45% of height, and a woman’s body becomes more aesthetically pleasing the closer her waist circumference gets to 40% of her height.
The best part about this equation is that there is no mention of an ideal weight, and there doesn’t need to be.
Simply, you cannot be a 6 foot tall man with a 33 inch waist and have a dangerously high body fat level. The same goes for being a 5 foot 5 inch woman with a 28 inch waist.
So remember- as a rule of thumb, try to keep your waist circumference to less than half of your height.
BP
