Caliper and smart scales: why count body weight indicators

The concept of «body mass index» was developed by the Belgian mathematician and founder of scientific statistics Adolphe Quetelet back in 1869. For the science of that time, the ideas of natural, like physical laws, causes of human actions were innovative, and social thought cherished the idea of ​​​​a common correct model — not only where it is necessary, i.e. in the field of laws, but also in the field of the structure of the human body, the upbringing of children, the rules of private life. Now this position is gradually losing supporters, although there are still many of them. The simplicity and certainty of a single averaged sample is understandable, it is pleasant to deal with them, but not always with a changing reality.

The body mass index has been around for many years, but it continues to be counted. This is not the only formula; There are many options for how to calculate the “ideal” weight. But BMI among them is the most famous. The World Health Organization calls the BMI norm: 18.5 — 25.

The index is calculated as follows: weight in kilograms must be divided by the square of height in meters. For example, your weight is 64 kg and your height is 1.65 m. Your BMI is 64:2.7225 = 23.5.

BMI in this form has some problems.

— The index, as presented by WHO, does not take into account either gender or age, and this is important: men have a higher BMI on average, plus body weight increases with age, and this is normal.

— For professional athletes and, for example, amateur bodybuilders, this system does not work: muscles are heavier than fat, and an absolutely healthy person with a lot of muscle mass can have a BMI that supposedly speaks of excess body weight.

— Gradually, the idea of ​​​​diversity conquers the minds: people can be quite different from each other and at the same time be healthy, efficient in their work and happy. There are a lot of norms, which means we need new ways to measure body performance. To track the progress of athletes, more accurate and detailed measurements are needed — for example, bioimpedance.

— And the most interesting for fans of a single correct sample: the WHO norm does not follow the standard normal distribution. Simply put, there are not so many people with “normal” weight according to WHO; According to RBC data for December 2019, 62% of Russians are overweight. That is, in this case, the word “norm” should be understood not as “the most common meaning”, but as a kind of ideal model that one should strive for, but the majority still fails. This is reminiscent of the situation with the sizes of women’s clothing. A woman with a size 48 common in Russia can hear in the store: “We don’t have anything for you.” Fortunately, this situation is gradually changing.

Online calculators: slightly better than the WHO formula

To get the same average, but slightly more correct result, you can use the online calculator. In special boxes you enter height, weight and age; the calculator calculates your BMI using a formula and gives you a ready-made result, often along with recommendations.

If there are now a lot of norms, why measure anything at all?

Following someone else’s abstract pattern is not very exciting. BMI can be beneficial if you measure the data regularly and compare them over time.

However, it is better to approach the measurements in more detail: the percentage of muscle tissue and percentage of fat will tell about your progress much more than BMI, namely, what is happening with your body in a functional sense.

Tracking progress during a training cycle

Goals can be very different: losing weight, gaining muscle mass, burning fat. It is best for motivation if they are intermediate, that is, your real goal is the result, for which the physical form is needed as a base.

If numbers inspire you, measurements will become an additional source of motivation.

Competition preparation

The sport of high performance has its norms: what is good for an office worker who goes to the gym three times a week is not enough for an elite marathon runner before the main race of the year. Professional athletes need more detailed measurements, separate indicators, for example, the proportion of muscle mass or the proportion of fat.

Marathon Runner magazine cites average body fat percentages for elite marathon athletes: 7.3% for men and 12.4% for women.

In elite swimmers — 10-12% for men, 19-21% for women.

For cyclists — 6-11% for men, 12-16% for women.

Pro triathletes have 6-10% for men, 12-16% for women.

WB Guru warns: The best way to ruin your mood is to compare your body fat percentage to that of elite athletes. Do not do it this way! Better read about the minimum values ​​u200bu200band optimal physical shape.

Maintaining optimal fitness

The publication «ZOZHnik» gives the minimum percentage of fat for survival: it is 3-5% for men and 8-13% for women. If there is less fat in the body, there may be problems with the functioning of internal organs.

The norms for ordinary healthy people are from 8% to 30% for men, from 21% to 36% for women (the values ​​differ markedly depending on age: the older, the higher the normal percentage of fat).

How to measure body fat percentage

Caliper

— This is the simplest mechanical device that measures the thickness of the fat fold. The principle of its work is based on the assumption that the total amount of fat in the body is reflected in the thickness of the fat fold. It is necessary to pinch a fold of skin and determine its thickness in millimeters, and then find a match in a special table, taking into account age and gender.

The advantages of the caliper are ease of use, affordability and ultra-compactness. Possible limitations — people’s bodies are still different, including the distribution of fat mass may differ, and the caliper is focused on a certain average version. But if you take measurements regularly, you will still get an overall picture of changes that is true for you personally.

Smart scales

Modern floor scales can measure not only body weight, but also the proportion of muscles, and the proportion of fat, and bone mass, and the percentage of water in tissues, they immediately calculate BMI (if you enter your height, age and gender), determine the level of metabolism and even your biological age. The smartest models are able to determine the amount of visceral fat — these are fat deposits around the internal organs.

The work of such scales is based on bioimpedance analysis, measuring the electrical resistance of tissues. Small electrical impulses are passed through the tissues; each type of fabric has its own unique resistance. This method is considered quite accurate when compared with the caliper.

There are smart scales that work with a special mobile application: you can set goals and keep statistics in it. Garmin Index smart scales from the brand of navigators and sports watches will be appreciated by those who already have a Garmin Connect account: it is convenient to collect information about training and health in one profile.

Do you have smart scales? Are you able to track progress with them?