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Goodbye, BMI?

Meet the new system that could replace BMI as a measurement of weight...

For decades, body mass index (BMI) has been used to determine who is, and who isnโ€™t overweight. However, that does not mean that it is a perfect system. As BMI doesnโ€™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. Thatโ€™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.

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โ€œBy 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 personโ€™s health risks,โ€ says Richard Barnes, CEO of Select Research and developer of the BVI Pro app. โ€œThat can also be implemented as a motivational tracking tool to see changes in weight distribution and overall body shape.โ€

Watch this space for more!

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