I saw this story on the Today Show this morning, and it’s nice to see that researchers are finding more importance in the waist/hip ratio (WHR):
“The research, conducted at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, appears in the August 21, 2007, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology (JACC). According to the study, the relationship of the waist measurement to the hip measurement (known as waist-to-hip ratio) was much more closely tied to early, hidden signs of heart disease than other common measures of obesity, such as body mass index (BMI) and height/weight charts. In other words, get rid of that potbelly!
Ideal waist-to-hip ratio :
For men, a ratio of .90 or less is considered to be safe.
For women, a ratio of .80 or less is considered to be safe.
For both men and women, a waist-to-hip ratio of 1.0 or higher is considered “at risk” or in the danger zone for undesirable health consequences such as heart disease.”
A lot of athletes feel that the BMI charts are unfair to them since muscle weighs more than fat, and their numbers would tend to imply that they were unhealthy. Of course, those same athletes knew better.
I measured my own WHR just to see where I stand. I knew going into it that I would probably high. I was right. My WHR is 1.05; So, I still have a few inches to lose of my waistline. Incidentally, my body fat percentage is down about 20.5% the last time I checked, so I am feeling pretty good about that.
Okay, I’m off to lift some weights at the gym!
