Short fat shock
Expert in plea for electric gadget in battle against childhood obesity
BIA scales
John Rei l ly, a professor in physical activity at the University of Strathclyde, said he wanted the Scottish Government to follow the US and Canada, who now use an electrical device. Both count r ies have started using Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis ( BIA) to det e c t thei r population’s obesity.
BIA scales work by sending a small electrical current painlessly from one foot to another.
Electricity finds it harder to pass through fat than muscle and measuring the size of its voltage is believed to give a more accurate reading.
Obesity studies in Scotland – including the bi-annual Scottish Government-run Scottish Health Survey (SHeS) – use the Body Mass Index (BMI) to determine how many people in the
JLS star JB Gill paid tribute to the country’s farmers after a visit to see a unique breed of sheep on Orkney which eats only seaweed.
The singer, a farmer himself, travelled to North Ronaldsay to see the rare breed before the country was locked down.
And he praised the important role farmers are playing during the coronavirus crisis, saying they can be “undervalued”.
JB, 33, who runs a farm in Kent, said he is proud to fly the flag for the industry. Speaking ahead of a new series of Springtime on the Farm, he said: “We undervalue the
producers of our country are obese. BMI involves measuringa patient’s height and weight to calculate if they fall within a healthy range.
But the technique is increasingly viewed as flawed by scientists.
A study by Reilly and his col league Hanouf Al Hammadi was published in a scientific paper that found BMI “substantially underestimates” obesity levels in teenagers in Kuwait. The Gulf state has one of the highest obesity rates in the world.
The paper – published in journal Diabetes, Metabolic Syndrome and Obesity – said: “Obesity is even more prevalent, and requires more urgent attention, than is apparent from BMI-based measures used in most research and national surveys.”
It ties in with studies Reilly conducted in Scotland two years ago when he warned using BMI to measure body fat content could be food. For me, it’s being able to go back to basics.
“When in a situation like this now, which is pretty much life and death, you see how valuable that role is.
“For me, farming is something I’m incredibly proud of and something I’ll do for as long as I’m able to do it.”
JB met Sian
Tennant, the woman who looks after the centuries-old underestimating the scale of the problem by as much as a half.
Reilly said: “Official statistics in the Gulf states, Scotland and nearly everywhere else are based on BMI. “There are some people with a high BMI who are just muscular. But there is a converse to that. There are a lot of people with a good BMI but who are fat.
“The US and Canadian surveys have started using BIA and it is much better.
“The Scottish Health Survey is effectively a check-up on the nation’s health. And it’s not as good a check-up as it should be. “BMI is underestimating the level of obesity in our children and adults.
“I don’t think that’s a very healthy state of affairs. If we are going to keep doing these surveys, we should – and could – be doing them better.”
Tam Fry, of the charity National Obesity Forum, agreed BIA should stone dyke that keeps the sheep away from the grazing land, for the show. Fellow presenters
Helen Skelton and Adam Henson had to finish their section of the programme by filming on their phones at home.
JB, who married wife Chloe in Mount Stuart House on Bute in 2014, said: “It was interesting seeing the history and understanding the relationship to farming on North Ronaldsay. “Scotland has a special place in my heart.” Springtime on the Farm starts tomorrow at 8pm on Channel 5. be deployed in the battle with the bulge. But the obesity expert warned the machines, which can cost up to £300 each, might be too expensive for health boards to buy.
Fry said: “Prof Reilly is right in pointing out the problems of BMI. But the cost could prohibit BIA getting used more. We’d welcome any move to record the scale of the obesity problem more accurately.”
The SHeS was last carried out in 2018. It found 65 per cent of adults are overweight, with 28 per cent classed as obese.
The study also found 30 per cent of children aged between two and 16 fell outwith the healthy BMI range, with 16 per cent classed as obese.
The Scottish Government said: “BMI is a widely accepted and used measure of weight and height and an important indicator of healthy weight at a population level.
“While we have no plans to use a different method, we will continue to monitor international evidence and best practice.”