There are two “calculators” that are useful gauges for assessing health risks associated with weight and cardio levels: 

1. BRI: This calculator assesses “body roundness,” but it really is trying to measure visceral fat, otherwise known for fat in the abdomen, which is a primary driver of a wide variety of health complications.

2. The American Heart Association’s PREVENT™ tool, which takes into account several factors to gauge overall heart health.

These two calculators are discussed in more detail below.

What’s the difference: BRI vs.rather than BMI

The BMI is a measure known as the body mass index. It is a ratio of a person’s height and weight and is used to estimate body fat percentage. This, in turn, is used to indicate if someone is underweight, overweight or obese.

While fine in theory, in the real world, the BMI falls short. Using only height and weight to estimate body fat percentage leaves out important variables. These include muscle mass, bone density, and overall body composition. Someone who is athletic can register higher on the BMI scale because muscle tissue is denser than fat and weighs more by volume. 

Another important variable regarding body fat is its location. Fat that sits deep in the body, surrounding the organs contained within the abdomen, is known as visceral fat. It is metabolically active in a way that contributes to chronic and systemic inflammation. Visceral fat, which results in a rounded belly and a large waistline, is associated with metabolic disease, insulin resistance, diabetes risk, cardiovascular complications, and an increased risk of certain cancers.

The profound health risk associated with abdominal fat, as well as the significance of body fat distribution, has led to a new index, called the body roundness index, or BRI, which shifts the focus to visceral fat. So, instead of a ratio of someone’s height and weight, the BRI calculation uses their height and their waist circumference. The resulting measurement, which ranges from 1 to 15, reflects the amount of visceral fat (fat around the organs).

A recent study analyzed two decades of health data gathered from 33,000 adults. It found the BRI to be more accurate than BMI at assessing whether someone is overweight or obese. Each of these is associated with an increased risk of disease and death. When BRI scores reached 7 and higher, the risk of developing cardiovascular disease, cancer and metabolic disease increased.

The BRI involves a complicated formula, but here is a link to a webFCE calculator that does it for you.  Also, here’s the formula if you want to do it yourself:

1. Take your height in inches and divide it by 2 (example:  if you are 5’8”—which is 68 inches—divide this by 2 to get 34)

2. Take your answer from #1 and multiply it by 6.28 (example:  34 x 6.28 = 213.52)

3. Take your waist circumference (in inches) and divide it by your answer from #2 (example: assuming your waist circumference is 35 then…. 35 / 213.52 = 0.1639 )

4. Take your answer from #3 and square it (example: 0.1639 x 0.1639 = 0.0269

5. Take 1 and subtract your answer from #4 (example:  1 minus 0.0269 = 0.9731)

6. Calculate the square root of the answer from #5 (example: the square root of 0.9803 is 0.9865)

7. Multiply your answer from #6 by 365.5 (example 0.9865 times 365.5 = 360.6

8. Take 364.2 and subtract your answer from #7 (example: 364.2 minus 360.6 is 3.6) 

So, the person in our example—with a height of 5’8” and a waist circumference of 35 inches, has a Body Roundness Index of 3.6, which is in the healthy zone.

The PREVENT™ tool can not only assess cardio risk, but guide treatment decisions as well

Developed by the American Heart Association in 2023, the Predicting Risk of Cardiovascular Disease EVENTs (PREVENT™) calculator estimates 10-year and 30-year risk for total cardiovascular disease (CVD), including atherosclerotic CVD and heart failure. It is the first risk tool to combine cardiovascular, kidney, and metabolic health measures to guide primary prevention-focused treatment decisions.

The equations were derived and validated using data from over 6.5 million U.S. adults across multiple datasets, and they are validated for adults ages 30–79 years without known CVD.

The calculator is based on the following factors to estimate CVD risk: sex, age, total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, systolic blood pressure, BMI (it might change to BRI soon), eGFR, diabetes, smoking habit, anti-hypertensive medication, and lipid-lowering medication. (Three optional predictors, urine albumin-creatinine ratio, hemoglobin A1c, and social deprivation index (SDI), can further personalize risk estimates.)

NOTE: The PREVENT calculator is intended for adults ages 30–79 without known CVD.