Obesity
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13. However, BMI is not a perfect universal tool, as heavily muscled players or athletes may register as obese according to BMI index, even though there is little fat on their bodies. For most of us, BMI is a good indicator of our fat status. Also remember that BMI alone is not the ultimate guide and that slim people with safe BMI (below 25) may still be at risk if they carry excess weight around their waists. In the Far East and Bangladesh, for example, studies have shown that the BMI of the healthy populations is between 16-18, which would be classed as underweight according to WHO standards.
14. It is unfortunate that Indians and Asians have genetically a higher degree of abdominal obesity and thus are more prone to diabetes and heart ailments, even if their BMI is substantially lower than people in the West. WHO has, therefore, revised the standard of BMI for Asians and recommend that persons with BMI between 23-25 should be considered overweight and with BMI above 25 as obese.
Waist Measurement
15. Different people have different fat storage areas. The mode of fat storage is also different in men and women. Most men store fat around the abdomen (stomach) first; followed by hips and thighs (android obesity). Women store fat first around the buttocks, thighs, arms and breasts; followed by abdominal area (gynoid obesity).
16. According to the saying, “longer the belt, shorter the life”, a tendency to put on weight around the abdomen is far more worrying health-wise than on hips, thighs or evenly distributed across the body. Abdominal fat or potbelly not only takes away the charm of wearing the good looking clothes but is mighty hard to get rid off as well. A person’s waist size seems to be a stronger indicator of health than BMI.
17. To be healthy in the West, the waist circumference for men and women should be under 100 cm and 85 cm respectively. Those men with waist size above 100 cm in the West were up to 12 times more likely to have Type II diabetes. Since Asians and Indians have genetically a higher percentage of body fat at lower weight, they need lower cut offs for physical indicators of metabolic disorders. For Indian men waist measurement should be under 90 cm and below 80 cm for women.
