For decades, body mass index (BMI) has been used to determine who is, and who isn't overweight. However, that does not mean that it is a perfect system. As BMI doesn't take age, bone structure, muscle mass, fat distribution or gender into account, it can end up misrepresenting the quantity it is used to measure. That's where the Body Volume Indicator (BVI) comes in. The brainchild of the prestigious Mayo Clinic and technology company Select Research, BVI works by taking two pictures of you and returning a 3D body scan. As BVI takes fat mass, lean mass and weight distribution into account in its calculations, its creators say is a more accurate measurement of body composition than BMI.
"By measuring weight and body fat distribution with a focus on the abdomen, the area associated with the greatest risk for metabolic disease and insulin resistance, BVI offers a new potential diagnostic tool to assess a person's health risks," says Richard Barnes, CEO of Select Research and developer of the BVI Pro app. "That can also be implemented as a motivational tracking tool to see changes in weight distribution and overall body shape."
Watch this space for more!
