Body mass index (BMI), currently the most widely used method for assessing whether a person is overweight or underweight. But now scientists offer a new and improved alternative: the relative fat mass index (RFM).
According to Science Alert, the RFM team of researchers says it is more accurate than BMI and only needs to be measured with a tape measure. So you don’t need a set of scales to measure like BMI.
For RFM, it will calculate waist circumference with height, not body weight. It gives an accurate indication of whether or not body fat is at a healthy level, the researchers say.
“We wanted to find a more reliable, simple and inexpensive method to assess body fat percentage without the use of sophisticated equipment,” said researcher Orison Woolcott, from Cedars Medical Center- Sinai in California said.
“Our results confirm the value of the new formula for a large number of subjects. RFM is a better method of measuring body fat than many indicators currently used in medicine and science. studies, including BMI.”
To calculate BMI, divide your mass (kg) by your height (m), then divide the result by your height again. The final result is compared with a histogram of a healthy weight for each height: a normal BMI is between 18.5 and 25.
Experts have always acknowledged that BMI isn’t perfect – it doesn’t account for gender differences and doesn’t accurately reflect muscle mass. Leads to misleading results for children and the elderly.
That said, BMI is a fast way to track problems like obesity over time and across populations. It can identify potential health problems related to someone’s weight, even if it’s just a rough guide.
Now, maybe BMI doesn’t really work anymore. To get a new RFM measurement, you measure your height and waist circumference, then apply the figures to this formula:
Men: 64 – (20 x height / waist circumference) = RFM
Female: 76 – (20 x height / waist circumference) = RFM
And this new calculation seems to work. Based on data from 3,456 adult patients in the US, RFM measurements roughly match body DXA tests (considered the gold standard for measuring body tissue, bone, muscle, and fat).
In other words, the RFM is almost as good a measure of body fat as a specialized medical device – and all you need is a tape measure. RFM’s calculations were more accurate than 300 other formulas the researchers tried.
Hopefully the new calculation will help anyone struggling with weight and health issues (like diabetes and high blood pressure) be able to better track body fat levels.
However, for now, we need more studies on more subjects to make sure the RFM is really accurate. If that proves to be the case, it might be time to say goodbye to BMI.
“We still need to test RFM in studies of many people to determine the range of body fat percentages that are considered normal or abnormal in relation to serious obesity problems,” says Woolcott.