Measuring Tape
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Measuring tape is the most basic of all biofeedback tools and is also a lot more informative than a bodyweight scale.
A bodyweight scale gives you a reading of your total bodyweight including fat, muscle, water, and bone. You may be happy to see the scale go down, but what if you lost muscle or if it turns out to be water loss only. On the other hand you may frown if the scale goes up, but what if you gained muscle or are retaining more water than usual?
A measuring tape on the other hand gives you a clearer picture on your body composition by way of being able to measure many different areas of the body. By measuring your height, hips, waist, legs, arms, and neck you can calculate whether it’s muscle or fat that is making up most of your body composition.
The best two measurements that help determine your risk for inflammation issues, diabetes, heart disease, or stroke include your height-to-waist ratio and your waist-to-hip ratio. To calculate height:waist ratio take your height in inches or centimetres and divide by your waist using the same unit of measure. To calculate waist:hip ratio take your waist in inches or centimetres and divide by your hips using the same unit of measure.
Ideally you want your ht:wst to be at least 2:1 and your wst:hp to be a maximum of 0.94:1.
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