Body Adiposity Index

lady_daraine
lady_daraine Posts: 61
edited September 26 in Food and Nutrition
Check this out:

BMI isn't such a great way to check for a person's overall health, since it has too many ways it can go wrong:
The problem with the BMI is that it often fails as a measure of how much unhealthy fat you are carrying. There are broad ranges in the BMI for “healthy” and “obese” to allow for athletes (who tend to be muscular, and muscles are more dense than fat) and women (who tend to have more body fat). The BMI overestimates body fat in lean people.
From http://www.squarecirclez.com/blog/new-measure-of-obesity-body-adiposity-index-bai/5774
BAI, though may probe to be better. It's the Body Adiposity Index, which is based on the measurements of your hips at their widest point and your height. Read the whole article to get the entire story, of course.
BAI may not prove to be accurate, but it is interesting to see how you are progressing by different measures, right?
The calculator below compares your BMI with your BAI so you can see how you're looking. The measurements are in metric, but he also links a converter so it shouldn't be a problem!

http://www.intmath.com/functions-and-graphs/bmi-bai-comparison.php

Replies

  • Atlantique
    Atlantique Posts: 2,484 Member
    I posted about this yesterday and no one else had heard of it yet. I thought it was pretty interesting, too!
  • Jourdan_Rystrom
    Jourdan_Rystrom Posts: 176 Member
    It's funny that you put this up, because it tells me I'm a lot bigger than I actually am!

    I have a total hourglass figure, but my waist is 26" and I am very slim. However, my hips are 38" so this says I'm 28% body fat, when I'm actually only 22%. So wayyyy off.

    But very interesting!!!
  • Atlantique
    Atlantique Posts: 2,484 Member
    It's funny that you put this up, because it tells me I'm a lot bigger than I actually am!

    I have a total hourglass figure, but my waist is 26" and I am very slim. However, my hips are 38" so this says I'm 28% body fat, when I'm actually only 22%. So wayyyy off.

    But very interesting!!!

    How do you know that you are at 22%? What sort of testing determined that?

    The BAI says it gets closer to the DXA (dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry) method of testing, which is considered most accurate in a clinical setting.

    So far, BAI has only been tested in African-Americans and Mexican-Americans, which means results can't yet be extrapolated to other populations.
  • broadsword7
    broadsword7 Posts: 411 Member
    This is really interesting. Thank you for posting it. Both the BMI and now this method confirm what I definitely already know...I have unhealthy fat to lose. But hey, I am gettin there!
  • kateopotato
    kateopotato Posts: 215 Member
    that's interesting. It came out pretty close to the body fat testing I had done by my doctor's office back in the beginning of March. At the time in the office I was at 31.5 and this says 32.1. I am pretty sure I have lost fat since then, but it's hard to say for sure I guess. It tells me I am in the healthy range versus obese though, so that is nice. haha. still have some to lose though.
  • Jourdan_Rystrom
    Jourdan_Rystrom Posts: 176 Member
    It's funny that you put this up, because it tells me I'm a lot bigger than I actually am!

    I have a total hourglass figure, but my waist is 26" and I am very slim. However, my hips are 38" so this says I'm 28% body fat, when I'm actually only 22%. So wayyyy off.

    But very interesting!!!

    How do you know that you are at 22%? What sort of testing determined that?

    The BAI says it gets closer to the DXA (dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry) method of testing, which is considered most accurate in a clinical setting.

    So far, BAI has only been tested in African-Americans and Mexican-Americans, which means results can't yet be extrapolated to other populations.

    I know its 22% because I use a body fat monitor at the gym and also calipers at the doctors office. Both methods have been consistent... I started at 28% when I weighed 155 and am now at 22% weighing 130.
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