Tracking the Human Body

What is 3D body scanning? How does it work? What are the benefits?

Understanding and tracking human body size and shape has long been performed with the use of instruments such as tapes, calipers and stadiometers.

Today anthropometry (i.e. measuring the human body) can be performed with three-dimensional body scanners.  Rather than taking hand-measurements, body scanners can take a 3D snapshot of the body in just a few seconds. 

How 3D Body Scanning Works

Once a scan is taken, the scan data is used to generate measurements, along with a three-dimensional view of the body. 

The output of whole body scanners is a cloud of points, which are typically converted into a triangulated mesh. This step is used to support the 3D visualization of the surface and the extraction of meaningful anthropometric landmarks and measurements.

Why Body Shape Matters

Benefits

3D body scanning is a fast and reliable tool for collecting body measurements. A scale might indicate that the subject has gained or lost weight, but it does not show weight distribution (i.e. where these changes have happened). This is especially important if you're looking to reduce abdominal fat (belly fat).

It also does not indicate whether the subject has gained body fat or lean mass in various body parts.

• Waist-to-Hip ratio as an indicator of health risks: World Health Organization; NIDDK

• Body Volume Index as an indicator of health

Limitations of Weight / BMI as a Health Indicator:

3D Body Scanning as an Alternative to BMI

Adolphe Quetelet created the BMI for measuring human body shape. It has prevailed for over 160 years

The BMI is an attempt to quantify the amount of tissue mass (muscle, fat, and bone) in an individual, and then categorize that person. However, the BMI does not indicate weight distribution. It also does not differentiate between body fat and lean mass. 

• Accuracy of Body Mass Index to Diagnose Obesity In the US Adult Population

• Misclassification of cardiometabolic health when using body mass index categories in NHANES 2005-2012.

• The Predictive Value of Different Measures of Obesity for Incident Cardiovascular Events and Mortality

• The Health Risk of Obesity—Better Metrics Imperative

Watch Fitnescity's video about 3D Fitness Tracking 

Quantified Self Conference, May 2017

Research

• Abdominal obesity and the risk of all-cause, cardiovascular, and cancer mortality: sixteen years of follow-up in US women.

• Waist circumference and waist-to-hip ratio as predictors of cardiovascular events: meta-regression analysis of prospective studies.

• The influence of body fat distribution on the incidence of diabetes mellitus. 13.5 years of follow-up of the participants in the study of men born in 1913.

• Comparison of body mass index, waist circumference, and waist/hip ratio in predicting incident diabetes: a meta-analysis.

• Health consequences of visceral obesity.

• Is the association of type II diabetes with waist circumference or waist-to-hip ratio stronger than that with body mass index?

• Waist-to-hip ratio and body mass index as risk factors for cardiovascular events in CKD.

• Reliability of a 3D Body Body Scanner for Anthropometric Measurements of Central Obesity.

• A personalized health monitoring and diagnosis system using 3D body scanning technology.

• The impact of 3D body images on motivating weight loss in overweight individuals.