Visceral fat determining device with a step-counting function

• US 7,383,082 B2
• Filed: 12/20/2001
• Issued: 06/03/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 12/22/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Yamato Scale Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Yamato Scale Company Limited
• Inventors: Okita, Koichi, Kawanishi, Shozo
• Primary Examiner(s): Hindenburg; Max
• Assistant Examiner(s): Apanius; Michael
• Application Number:
  US10/451,580
• Publication Number:
  US 20040102684A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,357 Days
• Field of Search: 235/105, 377/24.2, 600/547, 600/554, 702/160, 128/920, 482/8
• US Class Current: 600/547
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0537 Measuring body composition by impedance, e.g. tissue hydration or fat content
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/107 Measuring physical dimensions, e.g. size of the entire body or parts thereof
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1118 Determining activity level
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4866 Evaluating metabolism A61B5/083 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4869 Determining body composition
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4872 Body fat
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 22/006 Pedometers
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 128/92 Computer assisted medical diagnostics

Abstract

A device is provided which is capable of determining an amount of exercise involved in walking, as well as of obtaining quantitative information about visceral fat in the abdominal part of a subject and which can be used handily by being carried with the subject. The visceral fat determining device with a step-counting function is configured as follows. The visceral fat determining device has a step-counting means for counting the number of steps involved in exercise such as walking done by a subject and a main body shaped to be portable. When body data of the subject such as the waist size of the subject is inputted to the visceral fat determining device through a manipulation section, the visceral fat determining device is capable of performing a computation of the body data based on a predetermined computing formula for obtaining quantitative information about the abdominal visceral fat of the subject.

Claims

1. A visceral fat determining device with a step-counting function, comprising:

a main body shaped to be portable,

step-counting means for counting the number of steps involved in exercise such as walking done by a subject,

data input means for allowing entry of body data of The subject including the waist size of the subject, which is the circumferential size of a trunk part of the subject,

computing means for obtaining quantitative information about abdominal visceral fat of the subject through a computation of the body data based on a predetermined computing formula,

storage means for storing a criterial reference value J_ws of the waist size, and

display means for displaying results of determinations obtained,

wherein the computing means obtains the quantitative information about abdominal visceral fat of the subject based on the computing formula using data including the waist size of the subject, and compares the waist size with the criterial reference value Jws of the waist size and determines whether a subject has the possibility of developing any one of the diseases that are likely to be caused by obesity of the subject'"'"'s body based on the comparison,

the display means is capable of displaying at least The number of steps counted by the step-counting means and the result of the determination,

the quantitative information about abdominal visceral fat is the abdominal visceral fat cross-sectional area of the subject,

the storage means further stores a criterial reference value J_NZ of abdominal visceral fat cross-sectional area,

the computing means further compares the abdominal visceral fat cross-sectional area with the criterial reference value J_NZ of abdominal visceral fat cross-sectional ares and determines whether a subject has the possibility of developing any one of diseases that are likely to be caused by obesity of the subject'"'"'s body based on the comparisons; and

wherein

the visceral fat determining device with a step-counting function has impedance measurement means capable of measuring the impedance of the body of the subject via electrodes brought into contact with terminals of the body of the subject,

the computing formula for determining the abdominal visceral fat cross-sectional area of the subject is created by statistical processing of correlations between actual visceral fat cross-sectional areas of a large number of human bodies as samples that are measured by tomography of the abdominal parts of the human bodies and body data of the human bodies as the samples; and

the computation based on the computing formula for determining the abdominal visceral fat cross-sectional area is performed using data including the waist size of the subject and the impedance of the body of the subject, the computing formula being

VA=A_g·

W+g₂·

Z+c₁₂

wherein Z is the impedance of a human body, and a_g, g₂ and c₁₂ are regression coefficients.

2. The visceral fat determining device with a step-counting function according to claim 1, wherein:

the step-count data obtained by the step-counting means is stored, and

the visceral fat determining device further comprising visceral fat change computing means for performing a computation to find a change in abdominal visceral fat cross-sectional area relative to the step-count data based on a first abdominal visceral fat cross-sectional area determined through a computation based on first body data, step-count data counted by the step-counting means after the first abdominal visceral fat cross-sectional ama is determined, and a second abdominal visceral fat cross-sectional area determined thereafter through a computation based on second body data.