Chapter

Indicators of Health: Body Mass Index, Body Fat Content, and Fat Distribution

From Human Nutrition by Human Nutrition

Concepts

1. Body Weight

   "Although the terms overweight and obese are often used interchangeably and considered as gradations of the same thing, they denote different things. The major physical factors contributing to body we

2. BMI Limits

   "Body mass index (BMI) is calculated using height and weight measurements and is more predictive of body fatness than weight alone. BMI measurements are used to indicate whether an individual may be u

3. Body Fat

   "Water, organs, bone tissue, fat, and muscle tissue make up a person’s weight. Having more fat mass may be indicative of disease risk, but fat mass also varies with sex, age, and physical activity lev

4. Fat Distribution

   "Total body-fat mass is one predictor of health; another is how the fat is distributed in the body. You may have heard that fat on the hips is better than fat in the belly—this is true. Fat can be fou