The Body Roundness Index (BRI) is a new way to measure how healthy you are based on your body’s fat distribution. BRI measures the body shape in a height-independent manner, revealing the size of Visceral Adipose Tissue (VAT) — fat stored in the central part of your body.
Easy way to calculate your BRI is to plug in your waist circumference and height into the BRI calculator below:
Body Roundness Index (BRI) is a new health metric to determine the roundness of your body shape.
BRI Calculator
Interpretation: The BRI ranges between 1 and 20
The mathematical formula of BRI:
BRI is better than the old measure of Body Mass Index (BMI). It more accurately determines the actual body fat levels of those who have the same body mass index (BMI) but different heights and waist circumferences.
BRI is based on the idea that the human body, when modeled as an ellipse, can better predict death and disease risk from its height-waist asymmetry. BRI correlates well with measurements taken by Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA).
Research On Body Roundness Index (BRI)
A recent study by Zhang, Ma, & Lin, (2024) divided people into 4 quantiles based on their BRI:
- Q1: 1.05 to < 3.41
- Q2: 3.41 to < 4.45
- Q3: 4.45 to < 5.46
- Q4: 5.46 to < 6.00
They found:
- Both the lowest (Q1) and highest (Q4) BRI groups had raised mortality risks.
- 25% increased risk of all-cause mortality in those with a BRI less than 3.4 (Q1).
- 50% increased risk of all-cause mortality in those with a BRI of 6.9 or greater (Q4).
- BRI values in the middle range (Q2 & Q3) predicted better health and less mortality risks.
- Mean BRI values for US adults increased steadily from 4.80 to 5.62 between 1999 and 2018.
- The increasing trend in BRI was more pronounced among certain demographic groups: women, age 65 years or older, and Mexican Americans.
Waist To Hip Ratio (WHR)
The waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) is a popular tool to predict health risk based on body shape. WHR measures the ratio of waist to hip girth. Increased WHR, even if BMI is in moderate range, can indicate high risk of heart and metabolic diseases.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), a moderate WHR is:
- 0.9 or less in men
- 0.85 or less for women
In both men and women, a WHR of 1.0 or higher increases the risk of heart disease and other conditions that are linked to having overweight.
A 2021 study showed that people who have an apple-shaped body (more fat around their midsection) may be at a higher risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and premature death than people who have a pear-shaped body (more fat in hips, thighs, and buttocks).
WHR Calculator
Dangers of Visceral Fat
- Visceral adiposity poses a greater risk for diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, and certain cancers.
- Insulin resistance is a related characteristic that may be an essential link between central fat and disease risk.
- The hyperinsulinemia that accompanies insulin resistance in non-diabetic but at-risk people may magnify, or even mediate, some of the harmful effects of mid-body fat.
If necessary, use the converter below to convert feet/inches to centimeters.
Final Words
The concept of an ellipse has been known since ancient times. However, it was the German astronomer Johannes Kepler who, in 1609, first described the elliptical orbits of planets in his laws of planetary motion. The degree to which an ellipse deviates from being circular is called eccentricity.
In 2013, Thomas & Bredlau developed the Body Roundness Index to reflect body shape better, modeling it as an ellipse, with waist circumference and height being the two eccentricities of this ellipse.
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