Body mass index (BMI) is a widely used value to determine whether a person's height is underweight, and the use of a fat scale can be quickly measured as normal, overweight or obese. By dividing the weight of a kilogram by the height of a square meter, BMI is often criticized because it does not take into account gender differences, nor does it distinguish between bone mass, muscle mass and excess fat. Researchers at the World Medical Center have now come up with a formula they claim can more accurately describe a person's body fat.

Unlike BMI, which requires a set of weight  scales and fat scales to calculate, the redeveloped scheme requires only a tape measure. Called the Relative Fat Mass Index, it involves calculating the ratio of height to waist circumference measurements (in meters), multiplied by 20 before subtracting the number to consider gender differences. Like this:

Fat mass index formula:

Male: 64 - (20 x height / waist circumference, in meter) = fat mass index

Female: 76 - (20 x height / waist circumference, in meter) = fat mass index

Fat is usually stored around the waist when measured by fat scale. Many medical professionals believe that waist circumference is an important indicator of the risk of weight-related health problems. The team's findings seem to support this belief in their new fat mass index formula.

Fat scales test more than 300 kinds of BMI conclusions

Using a database of 12,000 adults who participated in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Health and Nutrition Survey, researchers tested more than 300 potential formulas for estimating body fat. After calculating the fat mass index of 3,500 patients, they compared these with DXA or DEXA scans. DXA scans, used to measure bone mineral density, are thought to be accurate methods for measuring body tissues, bones, muscles and fat weights.It is found that the fat mass index achieved by the above formula is the closest to the DXA body scan.

The fat mass formula has now been validated in large databases, said Dr. Johnson, senior author of the study and director of the Sports Spectacular Diabetes and Obesity Health and Research Center. "This is a new measure of physical obesity, and health practitioners can easily be treated, and these patients often face serious health consequences, such as diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease.

The BMI has proven to be "better at measuring obesity than many of the indices currently used in medicine and science,but it needs to be tested in longitudinal studies with a large population, the MD said. After so many fat scale tests, it is possible to determine whether the percentage range of body fat associated with serious obesity-related health problems is normal or abnormal.