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Skip the BMI -- pinch that fat instead

Categories: Diet & Weight Loss, Fitness

The Body Mass Index (BMI) measurement is not all it's cracked up to be. It's a good guide and can offer a general view of your placement on the obesity continuum, but it's based on height and weight alone -- and herein lies the problem.

BMI doesn't take into account body frame or muscle mass and in one recent study cited in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports, 60 percent of women were heavier or thinner than their BMI calculations indicated.

Next time you're in the market for determining your true size, ask for a skin fold test at your doctors office or your local fitness club. Let someone actually pinch that fat. Then, you'll know more clearly where you stand.

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