Height-and-weight or height-and-waist to gauge your health?

Putting the measuring tape around your middle may be part of a new and more accurate standard to find out if you are obese.

- Judith Tan

Called the body roundness index, or BRI, this new screening method uses waist circumference and height to predict overall body fat and visceral fat levels, instead of using weight and height to measure obesity.

A person with more abdominal and overall fat has a larger waistline and is "rounder", and will have a higher BRI score on a scale that ranges from one to 16.

A recent study, published in peer-reviewed journal Jama Network Open in June 2024, found that BRI may be more accurate in estimating obesity and its associated health risks than the standard body mass index (BMI), drawing attention to this potential alternative.

In this study, researchers analysed the BRI of about 33,000 people over 20 years. They found a higher BRI was linked with a greater risk of cardiovascular and metabolic disorders, and even cancer.

Abdominal fat, especially visceral fat that surrounds internal organs, is a strong predictor of risks such as heart disease and diabetes.

For years, BMI has been the benchmark to categorise people as underweight, overweight, obese or extremely obese, and help determine whether they are at risk of certain health conditions, but it has been criticised as flawed.

Created for the Caucasian man, it does not take into account the overall body composition - the percentage of fat and muscle, and bone density - and racial and gender differences.

While some people with a normal BMI can have a high percentage of fat mass and a low muscle mass, others with high BMI may be laden with muscle, which is volumetrically heavier than fat.

Dr Tan Hong Chang, a senior consultant in the endocrinology department at Singapore General Hospital, said: "The BMI works well for most individuals as an indicator of health.