Less is more.
Would you be willing to strip down to your skivvies and have your photo taken at your doctor’s office so that a more accurate measurement of your weight related risks could be measured? Yeah , me neither. But if Select Research of the United Kingdom, and the Mayo Clinic have their way, BVI (Body Volume Indicator) will be the new measure to determine health status in relation to weight. BVI would replace BMI (Body Mass Index) as the gold star measurement of health related risks due to a person’s weight. While BMI certainly has its flaws, it’s a heck of a lot easier to measure and then there is that thing about getting photos take in your underwear.
BVI focuses on the volume of fat in the abdominal area. After the photos are taken (did I mention in your underwear), you end up with 3D measurements that reveal body composition in specific parts of your body. It is commonly known that fat in the abdominal area constitutes a higher health risk. Currently we use a tape measure (clothes on) to get a waist measurement which is also a measure of health risk in the abdominal area. Any measurement of over 35 inches for women and 40 inches for men indicates increased risk. In other words, if your waist is inching up to or past 3 feet in circumference, you’re setting up for health problems, often of the cardiovascular kind. Not a happy path to be traveling.
If there is one thing you can do to avoid an unhealthy waist measurement (and stripping for a BVI test), it is to eat less. I didn’t say fast or starve. Just eat less…of everything. One less serving. One less handful of whatever. It all matters. When you make a conscious decision to stop finishing or better yet stop buying the bag/box/can/container of food void of nutrition (chips/cookies/refined carbs…), you immediately begin to reduce your health risks and very likely, reduce your waist measurement. Every inch matters. You can do this, we can help.
