WEBVTT

00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:08.540


00:00:08.540 --> 00:00:11.890
-The body mass index is a
pretty established test now,

00:00:11.890 --> 00:00:13.905
that I'd say has been
around for about 20 years.

00:00:13.905 --> 00:00:16.030
The advantage is that it's
something that everybody

00:00:16.030 --> 00:00:17.201
can do in their own home.

00:00:17.201 --> 00:00:19.700
You can measure your height and
you can work out your weight

00:00:19.700 --> 00:00:22.640
and there's no complicated
maths or technical stuff that's

00:00:22.640 --> 00:00:25.370
involved it's a very useful
tracking mechanism so it's

00:00:25.370 --> 00:00:28.214
something you could measure
at monthly intervals,

00:00:28.214 --> 00:00:30.005
just to see how your
weight is fluctuating.

00:00:30.005 --> 00:00:39.300


00:00:39.300 --> 00:00:42.590
One of the problems with using
BMI is that as I said before,

00:00:42.590 --> 00:00:44.790
it is actually a
mathematical construct.

00:00:44.790 --> 00:00:47.570
Now muscle is much
heavier than fat.

00:00:47.570 --> 00:00:51.260
So if you've got a patient
who is particularly muscular,

00:00:51.260 --> 00:00:56.180
then they may have what appears
to be a high BMI, when in fact,

00:00:56.180 --> 00:00:58.910
if you analyse the degree of
body fat that they actually

00:00:58.910 --> 00:01:01.830
have it may in fact, the on
the normal or even low side.

00:01:01.830 --> 00:01:09.690


00:01:09.690 --> 00:01:11.260
With most children
who are carrying

00:01:11.260 --> 00:01:12.950
a little bit of
extra weight, they

00:01:12.950 --> 00:01:14.890
will find when they get
to puberty and get out

00:01:14.890 --> 00:01:16.540
the other side of
puberty, then they

00:01:16.540 --> 00:01:18.180
will have lost that weight.

00:01:18.180 --> 00:01:22.840
If on the other side of puberty,
you have a BMI of over 25,

00:01:22.840 --> 00:01:24.827
which is technically
abnormal, then that

00:01:24.827 --> 00:01:27.160
will be the time to start
thinking about doing something

00:01:27.160 --> 00:01:28.000
about it.

00:01:28.000 --> 00:01:29.020
And obviously, the
sooner you start

00:01:29.020 --> 00:01:31.520
trying to do something about
it, the more effective that is.

00:01:31.520 --> 00:01:35.470


00:01:35.470 --> 00:01:38.410
What's becoming a very popular
measurement at the moment

00:01:38.410 --> 00:01:41.160
is what's called the
waist to hip ratio.

00:01:41.160 --> 00:01:43.670
So you measure around the very
narrowest part of the waist

00:01:43.670 --> 00:01:45.690
and the widest part of the hips.

00:01:45.690 --> 00:01:48.020
And you get the difference
between the two.

00:01:48.020 --> 00:01:53.020
In women, because they're curvy,
it shouldn't be more than 0.7

00:01:53.020 --> 00:01:54.162
as a ratio.

00:01:54.162 --> 00:01:55.620
And in men, because
they tend to be

00:01:55.620 --> 00:01:58.560
more straight between
the hips and the waist,

00:01:58.560 --> 00:02:01.130
it shouldn't be more 0.9.

00:02:01.130 --> 00:02:03.780
The body fat percentage
measurements are actually

00:02:03.780 --> 00:02:05.560
quite similar to the BMI.

00:02:05.560 --> 00:02:13.150


00:02:13.150 --> 00:02:15.200
For women, we're
probably talking

00:02:15.200 --> 00:02:18.475
between 25% and 35% body fat.

00:02:18.475 --> 00:02:19.850
For chaps, we're
probably talking

00:02:19.850 --> 00:02:22.510
between 20% and 30% body fat.

00:02:22.510 --> 00:02:26.720
Once you're getting below the
sort of 19%, 18% body fat,

00:02:26.720 --> 00:02:28.822
certainly for women,
you might begin

00:02:28.822 --> 00:02:31.280
to wonder if perhaps they're
getting a little bit too thin.

00:02:31.280 --> 00:02:34.080
If you're concerned
that you're overweight,

00:02:34.080 --> 00:02:37.450
it's really best not to rely
on just one measurement.

00:02:37.450 --> 00:02:40.907
So don't look at just your
weight or just your BMI or just

00:02:40.907 --> 00:02:41.490
your body fat.

00:02:41.490 --> 00:02:43.700
So it's a matter of
putting all those together,

00:02:43.700 --> 00:02:47.690
and then in context, also
of your own physical shape.

00:02:47.690 --> 00:02:54.187