Is BMI Obsolete?

Hello, faithful readers!

This may be our most important post of the last year -- especially for those of you with an unhealthy body composition.  We encourage you to read this posting and respond with questions or comments, as the information below may help revolutionize the medical approach to weight management.

Since PPT's inception, we've declared that the Body Mass Index (BMI) is an inaccurate method of evaluating one's risk for fat-related disease.  Our reasoning?  BMI does not determine any difference between a person's fat weight and lean tissue.  This means that if you were to gain ten pounds of hard-earned muscle while losing ten pounds of excess fat, your BMI would stay the exact same, and your doctor would likely tell you that your exercise efforts were not paying off in terms of fat loss.  Imagine that... You lose fat, gain muscle, and then hear that your BMI hasn't improved.  You'd be making tremendous progress, but you'd be likely to become discouraged from a lack of understanding.  Unlike our methods of body composition assessment (also called body fat percentage assessment), The BMI is a simple system that looks at fat, bone, water and muscle as all falling into one category:  weight.

The medical community has continued to rely on the BMI because of it's simplicity and ease.  And, for non-exercisers, it has some merit (until they begin exercising and gaining muscle, at which point it becomes misleading).  From its inception the Body Mass Index has been questioned for its numerous flaws, and other quick and easy means have been evaluated.  But finally, researchers from the University of Michigan seem to have something on the horizon that is just as simple, but that illustrates a more accurate assessment of health risk.
After assessing anthropometrics, or body circumferences in more than 1100 children ages 6 to 18, correlations were found between neck circumference and risk for later diseases such as obstructive sleep apnea, diabetes, or high blood pressure.  Whereas abdominal obesity is not taken into account with the BMI scale, it does seem to correlate quite well to these neck circumference measurements, thereby leading the researchers to feel that neck measurement would present a more meaningful value to patients than the BMI.

Neck circumference and risk stratification charts are not currently available, but should become so in the near future. In the meantime, rely on direct measurements of body fat (body composition) with your Perfect Personal Trainer, along with anthropometric measurements to predict risks to health and to assess proper lifestyle modification.

Learn more about your risk factors and the best ways to reduce them!  Call (877)698-DO-IT (3648) to speak with a Perfect Personal Trainer.  We're even happy to schedule a free consultation, right in your home or office, and to evaluate your risk factors for you and your family.

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"What is the BEST way to do cardio?"

We get this question often: Which method of cardiovascular training is most superior for effective body fat reduction?
Is it jogging?

The elliptical?

Swimming?

The Answer: It's not the type of training that will make a difference... It is how it's performed!

Cardiovascular Defined
First, let us get straight what cardiovascular training really is: It is rhythmic, repetitive, and involves large muscles of the body moving through a big range of motion. This rules out repeated sets of bicep curls or heel raises for cardio exercise, but includes exercises that involve big, broad movements such as the elliptical or crossramp machines, walking, jogging, running, cycling, stair climbing, kicking, jumping jacks, stepping, or major movements of the arms and shoulders, such as rowing or boxing.

Desired Intensity
For those in good health without history of coronary intervention, heart or lung disease, stroke, poor circulation, or similar issues, it is generally best to train the cardiovascular system with a heart rate at 55-80% of its estimated maximum. This means that if your estimated maximal heart rate is 200 beats per minute, then you should probably find your most effective fat loss results at a training heart rate of 110-160 beats per minute. To safely estimate your maximum heart rate, please consult a Perfect Personal Trainer. This value will change over time, and should be re-estimated regularly so you are not undertraining or overtraining your aerobic system.

Which Form Is For You?
Choose cardiovascular exercises that you will find enjoyable, and feel free to go from one to another if you find yourself getting bored or having difficulty keeping your heart rate in the range described above. Also avoid cardiovascular exercises that rely on any of your joints that have caused you trouble. For example, if you have experienced hip or knee or ankle trouble, then you might be safer performing cardiovascular training that uses the upper body as opposed to the lower body. (It is generally best to consult a physician, however, if you have experienced any prolonged joint discomfort at all.)

Duration & Frequency
Now that we have defined what cardiovascular training is and an appropriate intensity, let's discuss the desired duration and frequency. After roughly twenty minutes, your body is more likely to start burning a higher percentage of fat than it did in the first twenty minutes. This percentage is scientifically shown to increase even more significantly as you draw closer to an hour of steady cardiovascular training. And, how often should this be performed? For general health, studies show that just two days per week can be somewhat beneficial, but that five days per week are more ideal for a longer life, reduced incidence of disease, and sustained fat loss.

Other Considerations
Weight-bearing cardiovascular training, such as jogging, can be either therapeutic or damaging to joints that are already unhealthy or strained. Consult a Perfect Personal Trainer to assess your medical history and risk factors. If you are currently sedentary, then you should always consult a physician and a qualified fitness professional before beginning an exercise regimen of any kind.