| Waist
Ratio
As well as BMI, the waist measurement can
be an important indicator. There are two
important ratios that have been established
as reliable indicators of overweight risk:
• waist to height should be less
than 0.5 (half)
• waist to hip should be less than
0.8 (women) or less than 1 in men.
People with ratios above these values are
at increased health risk because of their
fat distribution.
Your waist measurement can become an important
motivator during the weight loss phase,
especially if you had not lost any weight
because of fluid retention. In this scenario,
regular waist measurements will confirm
that inches - if not kilos - are still being
lost!
The Ashwell® Shape Chart has been developed
by Dr Margaret Ashwell who is the Nutritional
Consultant to Cambridge Health & Weight
Plan Limited.
Her research - based on scientific and medical
evidence from the Universities of Cambridge
and London in the UK - indicates that health
risk could be determined by the shape of
people's bodies (see below).
Apples
Excess fat which is found deep down in the
region of the stomach and gives someone
an 'apple' shape, is often associated with
serious conditions such as heart disease,
raised blood pressure, diabetes and some
types of cancer.
Pears
Excess fat which is found under the skin,
around the bottom, hips and thighs and gives
a 'pear' shape is less harmful to health..
What
to do:
-
'Draw' a horizontal line corresponding
to your height.
-
'Draw' a vertical line to correspond to
your smallest waist circumference measurement.
-
The point where these two lines meet shows
where your shape is on the chart.
What
it means:
If your shape is in the orange ‘chilli’
region, you should take care. You will not
need to lose weight, and might need to gain
it.
If your shape is in the green ‘pear’
region, you have a healthy OK shape.
If you shape falls in the yellow ‘pear-apple’
region, (particularly the upper end), you
should Take Care. Make certain that you
don’t put on any more weight which
will increase your waistline.
If your shape falls in the red ‘apple’
region, your health is probably at risk.
You should talk with your GP about losing
weight. Your waistline will then decrease
and your health risk too.
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