Body Baseline

A clearer picture of your health than scales alone can give you.

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After 50, relying on scales alone can be misleading. Weight may stay constant even as muscle decreases and fat accumulates around the organs — the kind of fat that fuels inflammation. This hidden fat, unlike subcutaneous fat, poses serious health risks.

Body Baseline turns home measurements — height, weight, waist and hip circumference — into key indicators: body fat percentage, lean mass, waist-to-hip ratio and basal metabolic rate. Results show whether you are healthy, borderline or at elevated risk according to clinical standards.

A full-body DEXA scan provides precise data: actual fat mass, lean mass and bone density by region. It costs under $100 at most Australian imaging centres and doesn't require a referral. Body Baseline applies the same validated formulas and thresholds from that clinical context to your existing measurements.

Every formula is from a peer-reviewed source. These calculations were also used in iaso health participant reports. We fully rebuilt the tool, confirming references before coding, and indicated where formulas produce estimates, as with lean body mass.

Body Baseline is intended as a tool to establish an initial measurement baseline using data you already have, which you can track over time. It is not a substitute for a DEXA scan or medical assessment, but it helps you better understand your risks and progress, especially as you age.

The tool is designed for women. Body fat thresholds, waist-to-hip risk categories and lean mass references are sex-differentiated and reflect women's physiology at different ages.

How it works

You enter the following measurements:

Age
Sex
Height (cm)
Weight (kg)
Waist circumference (cm)
Hip circumference (cm)
Resting heart rate (optional — improves training zone accuracy. If skipped, the tool uses your age-predicted maximum heart rate instead)

You can select your activity level from six options, from sedentary to highly active. No login is required, and your results appear within seconds.

What you get

Percentage body fat

Calculated using the Hume formula for lean body mass, then derived as a percentage of total body weight. Classified against an age- and sex-stratified table, with separate ranges for 40–49, 50–59 and 60+.

Waist-to-hip ratio

Waist divided by hip. Classified as low, moderate or high risk using WHO sex-specific thresholds. Women with a ratio above 0.85 are in the elevated risk category for cardiovascular and metabolic disease.

Basal metabolic rate

Calculated using the Mifflin-St Jeor equation — the formula validated as most accurate for adults over 50. Shows your resting energy requirement in kilojoules or calories.

Total daily energy expenditure

Calculated across six activity multipliers, from resting to super athletic. Gives you the energy range your body needs at your current activity level.

Training zones (Karvonen method, zones 1–5)

Heart rate zones calculated using your resting heart rate and age-predicted maximum. Zone 1 is active recovery. Zone 5 is maximum effort. Each zone is expressed as a heart rate range.

You can review your results, and we use plain-language notes to help you better understand your status and take action as needed for any value outside the healthy range.

Body Baseline is currently in development. Opt back in to be notified when it's ready.

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