The age-related loss of skeletal muscle mass and function: Measurement and physiology of muscle fibre atrophy and muscle fibre loss in humans. Ageing Res Rev. Schnurr TM, Gjesing AP, Sandholt CH, Jonsson A, Mahendran Y, Have CT, et al. PLoS ONE 11 11 : e Karastergiou K, Smith SR, Greenberg AS, Fried SK.

Sex differences in human adipose tissues - the biology of pear shape. Biol Sex Differ. University of Houston. Center of Wellness Without Borders. The 3 somatotypes. Wells JC, Fuller NJ, Dewit O, Fewtrell MS, Elia M, Cole TJ.

Four-component model of body composition in children: density and hydration of fat-free mass and comparison with simpler models. Am J Clin Nutr. Kravitz L, Heyward VH. The University of New Mexico. Getting a grip on body composition.

Nuttall FQ. Body mass index: obesity, BMI, and health: A Critical review. Nutr Today. By Jill Corleone, RD Jill is a registered dietitian who's been learning and writing about nutrition for more than 20 years. Use limited data to select advertising.

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Content is reviewed before publication and upon substantial updates. Medically reviewed by Rachel Goldman, PhD, FTOS. Learn about our Medical Review Board. Table of Contents View All. Table of Contents.

What is Body Composition? What is Body Fat? Body Composition vs. How to Measure Body Composition. Factors to Consider. Changing Your Body Composition. Frequently Asked Questions. Body Image: What It Is and How to Improve It. How to Calculate Body Fat Percentage.

How to Improve Body Composition With Nutrition and Exercise. What Is Body Positivity? Pros Painless, quick, and easy You can purchase scales with BIA technology to use at home. Cons Not a good predictor of body fat percentage in all people Hydration affects results.

Pros You can wear shorts and a t-shirt when getting measured The test is quick and painless. Cons Difficult to get accurate results when performed by someone without proper training Not a good tool for measuring body composition in people with weight challenges. Pros Fast and painless test Provides regional body composition Measures bone mineral density.

Cons Requires trained medical professionals for testing Not suitable for all body types. Pros Gives the most accurate results. Cons Not widely available Requires special equipment and professional testers.

Pros Test is quick and provides a print out of your measurements, including calorie needs Results are accurate. Cons Overestimates body fatness in lean individuals Clothing and facial hair may affect results. Body Acceptance: What It Means and How to Achieve It. Frequently Asked Questions Which are the 3 somatotypes body types?

What is the 4-component model of body composition? This model is often used to measure body composition in children. What is a healthy body fat percentage for males and females? Verywell Fit uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles.

Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. See Our Editorial Process. Meet Our Review Board.

Share Feedback. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! What is your feedback? Related Articles. Yes, exercise is very important and helps improve body composition.

Resistance exercises and strength training are very useful in improving body structure and composition. Exercises improve body composition by promoting the preservation and growth of muscles, causing fat loss, improving the tone of various body organs, improving bone health, boosting cardiovascular endurance, improving mental well-being by causing better mood, lowering stress levels and increasing overall long-term sustainability.

The desired goal is to have optimum levels of fats in the body, and higher and lower body fat levels have negative health outcomes.

The consequences of poor body composition are grouped into various categories. Body fat has an important role in keeping the body functions going, including the activities of the nervous, endocrine, skeletal, reproductive and cardiovascular systems and without fat, all of these functions are compromised.

Here are some negative health outcomes of very low body fat. Benefits of low body fat: Low body fat is not just harmful, but it has many benefits that force many people to lose weight.

These are;. Consequences of high-fat percentage in the body: Poor body composition in the form of a high-fat percentage is a negative sign and poses health risks. Some of the consequences of high-fat percentage in the body are;. Body shape and body composition are strongly linked to genetics, as it is noted that people of the same family often have very similar body sizes and shapes.

Some genetic and family factors linked to body composition are;. Genes inherited from parents: The genes that control the appetite, digestive enzymes and hormones are inherited, and according to J. Owen University of Wales Bangor, Gwynedd, UK , the traits associated with body composition have a high heritability of 0.

Being obese and overweight is thought to be a genetic response to the issues like nutrition, and some people are genetically predisposed to the development of obesity. The inheritance of so-called 'thrifty genes' predisposes some people to increased fat deposition and reduced fat loss.

Besides the genes inherited from the parents, the similar conditions of wombs in the case of siblings influence body composition. Maternal healthcare during pregnancy: The material healthcare during pregnancy matters as the research has shown that babies born to mothers who eat more carbs and fats have more body fat than babies born to mothers who eat more proteins.

Genetics influence the type of fat: Genetics influence both types of fat storage , i. Genetics strongly influence the deposition of brown fat, a biologically active fat activated in certain conditions like extreme cold.

Brown fat is more common in children. However, some people retain brown fat, the degree of which is determined by genetic factors. Research backing of the claims: The twin studies involve the observations of the twin siblings and compare and contrast them to see how much influence genetics has on body composition.

However, the BMI provides an incomplete picture of the body composition, like the proportion of fat and fat-free mass. A study involving 30 pairs of identical twins in found that genetics has a strong influence on body composition parameters than other factors like smoking, activity level, gender, age and number of children the parents has.

With age, body composition changes even if there is no change in body weight. It is observed that muscle mass decreases and fat mass increases with advancing age.

What causes these changes needs to be better understood. Some experts like Jennifer A. Schrack and Nicolas D. Knuth propose that there is a decrease in fat oxidation and the resting metabolic rate RMR with age, resulting in changes in body composition. It is true in the reverse, too, which means changes in the body composition cause lower RMR.

The metabolic rate of different individual organs decreases in old age due to the decrease in size and mass of the tissue and organs. Additionally, the increased fat mass is focused more on the abdominal region, which is closely linked to diabetes and cardiovascular health. According to Marie-Pierre St-Onge , PhD, the increased abdominal fat mass is due to increased fat deposition in different organs in the abdominal region, while the increased percentage of total fat mass is due to a reduction in lean mass.

The loss of muscle mass, particularly skeletal muscles with advancing age is associated with increased mortality, lower ability to cope with stresses, physical disability and functional impairment.

Athletic performance depends upon skill and health-related components like balance, reaction time, agility, speed, power and, after all, body composition. All of the fitness-related components are highly dependent upon the body composition.

Increasing lean body mass improves power and strength related to muscle size and contributes to agility, quickness and speed. Likewise, reducing the non-essential body fat improves speed, agility, overall cardiopulmonary endurance and muscular strength. The non-essential fat adds to the body weight, increases resistance to the athlete's motions, and forces them to increase the force of muscular contractions for a given workload.

It, in turn, limits movement capacity, coordination, balance and endurance. Therefore, achieving lower body fat helps athletes plan to engage in sports competitions. Some sports cause the body to become massive and muscular, while others cause it to become lean.

For example, heavyweight wrestlers need to develop a massive body. The increased mass provides more inertia and allows the athletes to perform with better stability.

The increased mass is due to both an increase in fat and muscular mass. Athletic activities like football, running, and field throwing cause lean body and fat loss.

Some other sports in that category are cycling and running. Athletic activities like weightlifting, martial arts, boxing, pole vaulting, high jump, wrestling and gymnastics need a high strength-to-mass ratio. The athletes working to improve performance in such activities experience a stable body weight with lower body fat.

Weightlifters, bodybuilders, boxers, powerlifters, martial artists and wrestlers compete according to their weight class.

So, they focus their lifestyle, including nutrition and exercises, to have a stable body weight while improving their strength. Softball and baseball cause lower body fat and an increase in lean mass as the lean mass improves agility and speed while fat loss improves endurance.

Soccer and basketball require the athlete to have moderate to high aerobic fitness and better strength, agility, quickness, power and strength. Such sports cause increased or at least stable lean masses and decreased fat mass. Generally speaking, almost all athletic activities need an athlete to improve lean mass and maintain weight while losing fat mass.

The nutritional and lifestyle changes and the exercise plans are focused on achieving the desired targets for a given sport. More fat adds to the resistance and decreases endurance, while lean body mass improves agility, speed and stamina. The athletes must work hard to combat the changes in body composition with age.

The body composition of women is different from that of men. Generally, women have a higher fat mass and lower lean body mass. Such differences are due to the differences in hormonal levels, physical activities and different biological factors. The key differences are;. It is related to the changes in the levels of sexual hormones.

The hormonal regulation and reproductive functions need a woman to have essential fat mobilised easily to produce energy. Muscle mass: Higher levels of physical activities and the effects of male hormones like testosterone cause a man to have higher muscular mass than the females.

Testosterone, the primary male hormone, causes increased growth and development of the muscles, and the increased levels of physical activities further increase the muscle mass in relation to the fat mass. Due to lower levels of testosterone, women have lower muscle mass.

Average body density: The density of fats is lower than the muscles. Women's body has a higher fat-to-muscle ratio, so the average density is lower than the males.

In women, the changes become more apparent after menopause. The fat mass increases, and the bone density decreases due to falling oestrogen levels. The males' higher bone density and muscle mass cause higher density.

Body shape: The fat distribution is different in men and women. Women have more subcutaneous fat than men. It results in differences in body shape. The characteristic curvaceous appearance of the females is due to higher fat deposition in and around the breasts, thighs and hips.

The apple-shaped body of men is due to the storage of fats in the abdominal region. The variations generally exist, although individual variations do exist between individuals. Factors like physical activity levels, lifestyle, age and genetics influence the degree and extent of differences.

For example, an athletic and physically active woman has lower fat and higher lean mass than the population average. Healthy body composition has several health benefits.

There are countless reasons why a person must have a healthy body composition, e. Burning fats and losing weight are among the best ways to maintain body composition. However, supplements alone provide little relief due to the role of environmental, genetic and lifestyle factors. If the other factors are optimised except the genetic ones that are not controllable , some metabolic supplements support a healthy body composition by promoting fat loss.

Some dietary supplements that are effective for weight loss and their dosage recommendations are given below. Caffeine and green tea extract: Very expensive fat loss supplements and techniques are not affordable for people with tight budgets. The supplements containing caffeine and green tea extract are cheap and easily available.

Both are present in almost all fat burners present in the market. Caffeine boosts the removal of fats from the body and inhibits more fat deposition.

The green tea extract has catechins , including the potent epigallocatechin gallate EGCG , that inhibits the breakdown of norepinephrine, promoting fat burning and improving metabolism. Both are very effective when combined, e. Carnitine and Forskolin: Forskolin present in some herbs like Coleus forskohlii increases fat burning by activating the hormone-sensitive lipase HSL , an enzyme that breakdown the fats causing them to enter the bloodstream and go into the tissues, e.

Carnitine promotes fat loss by burning the fat present in the tissues. It causes the entry of fats into the mitochondria of cells, where it is burnt to produce energy. Combining both, like g of carnitine as L-carnitine and mg of Forskolin, before a workout or breakfast works best.

Ginger and red pepper: Some spices like ginger and red pepper not only spice up the food, they increase the rate of metabolism. For example, capsaicin in red chilli causes fat loss by increasing norepinephrine levels and stimulating the rate of metabolism.

It decreases hunger and thus reduces caloric intake. Ginger works using the same mechanism. It is known to stimulate lactic acid production, which increases lipolysis.

Combining them by adding them into the food is an excellent weight loss therapy. Sesamin and tetradecylthioacetic acid TTA : Sesamin is a lignin preset in sesame oil. It is an antioxidant and a powerful fat burner. Research has found that sesamin stimulus the peroxisome proliferator activator receptor alpha PPAR Alpha in the liver, heart and muscles.

These receptors switch on the genes that cause decreased fat storage and increased fat burning. TTA is a fatty acid that regulates the storage and burning of stored fats.

It stimulates various types of PPAR, which provides additional efficacy. A good way is to combine both, like mg of TTA with mg of sesamin, with any meal. Mineral supplements: Some minerals boost weight loss and improve lean body mass.

For example, calcium reduces weight gain and improves fat loss. Higher calcium levels suppress a hormone called calcitriol, which inhibits fat breakdown and improves fat gain. It lowers the absorption of dietary fats into the body. Trace minerals like selenium and zinc are important for producing thyroid hormones T3 and T4, which help boost the metabolism.

Consult the nutritionist for a good mineral supplement that provides adequate levels of these minerals. Arginine and glutamine: Amino acids build protein and have anabolic effects.

Both glutamine and arginine are amino acids that are the building blocks of proteins and have fat-burning properties. Arginine boosts the production of nitric oxide NO and is a high-quality fat burner. The NO itself enhances fat burning. The body easily consumes the fat released from fat burning to produce energy.

Glutamine increases the release of GH, which stimulants fat burning. A good option is to combine both, like grams of glutamine with a workout, before bed or with breakfast, and grams of arginine as L-arginine or any other potent form.

Whey and soy: Both are protein supplements that improve protein synthesis and muscle growth and have fat-loss properties. The whey and soy protein powder improves body composition by combining fat loss with increasing muscular mass. Whey proteins depress hunger by increasing the levels of hunger-depressing hormones, glucagon-like peptide 1 and cholecystokinin.

Combining both, like taking a shake containing 10g of each before or after a workout, is useful. Conjugated linoleic acid CLA and fish oil: Many clinical trial studies have found that CLA is helpful to shed body fat and improve muscle mass and strength.

It inhibits the lipoprotein lipase, the enzyme close to the fat cells that take the fats from circulation and store it in the body fat. Fish oil is a source of omega-3 fatty acids that help burn fat.

The omega-3 fatty acids convert into the prostaglandins that promote thermogenesis and prevent the storage of dietary fat as fatty tissues. A good option is combining both, like g fish oil and g CLA, with lunch, dinner or breakfast.

Glucomannan and 5-HTP: Glucomannan is a soluble fibre that absorbs water in the digestive system to create a feeling of fullness. It is derived from the root of the Konjac plant. An important issue faced during the weight loss journey is the cravings for carbohydrates that are particularly severe at night.

The 5 hydroxytryptophan 5-HTP is produced from an essential amino acid and is useful to control carb cravings. A good option is to combine both, like mg 5-HTP, with g glucomannan before meal. Yes, having a healthy body composition reduces the risk of diseases.

The development of disease is in some way or the other related to the changes in body composition. Increased frequencies of illnesses in old age are related to the changed body composition resulting in more fat and fewer muscles.

A perfect balance of muscles, bones, fats, connective tissues, and other tissues is a Hallmark of complete health. The most dangerous thing to have is excessive fat in the abdominal region. Better body composition protects against the following diseases.

Remember that body composition is just one of many aspects of disease prevention, and other risk factors like excessive alcoholism, smoking, sleep deprivation, higher stress levels, sedentary lifestyle and inadequate nutrition, etc. Having a good body composition is not a guarantee of disease prevention, but it is still a good thing to consider.

Skip to content Free delivery on orders over £ Item added to your cart. Check out Continue shopping. Body Composition: Definition, Importance, Measure and Types. Authored by. Dr Muhammad Zeeshan Afzal 26 July Reviewed by. Paola Drexler.

Body Composition Overview Body composition means the percentage of body muscles, bones, blood, water and other tissues. Various methods are used to measure the body composition, including skin fold measurement, measurement of Body circumference, dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry DEXA scan , bio-impedance analysis, hydrostatic weighing and other methods like MRI, CT scan and BioPod etc.

What is Body Composition? Why is the Body Composition Important? Some other benefits of having an ideal body composition are; Better quality and quantity of sleep Better regulation of blood glucose and blood pressure Better self-confidence and mood Increased endurance and energy throughout the day Reduced chronic pains like pain in the lower back, hip and joints Better circulation and a lower risk of cardiovascular diseases Better fertility and a lower risk of reproductive issues Better respiratory functions like breathing and lung functions Better insulin sensitivity and glucose tolerance The body composition determination is useful for people recovering from different chronic diseases and wants to know if the dieting strategies and lifestyle support the recovery process and if any adjustments are required.

What Method is used to Measure the Body Composition? Skin fold caliper: It is an old method used for over half a century.

Using a portable calliper, it measures the presence and thickness of the subcutaneous fat, which is present at different body locations under the skin. The measurements are done at sites chosen based on gender and age.

For a 3-site measurement in the men, the sites used are the triceps, chest and area under the scapula or the thigh, abdomen and chest. For a 7-site measurement, the areas under the shoulder blade and near the armpits are included. For a three-site measurement in women , the thighs or abdomen, areas above the hip bone and triceps are used.

For a 7-site measurement in women, the other areas used are under the shoulder blade, near the armpits and chest. It is an affordable and quick method at home using portable instruments.

It provides reasonable accuracy. However, it requires the person doing it to have basic knowledge of human anatomy and good practical experience. It requires the pinching of body tissues, and the feeling of pinching is uncomfortable for some people.

Body circumference measurement: The body's shape varies from person to person and provides information about body composition. Measuring the circumference of some body parts helps estimate the body's fat percentage.

In the case of men, the waist and neck circumference are measured, while in the case of women, the hip is included. It is an affordable and easily accessible method and needs minimal tools only a calculator and a measuring tape. It is performed easily at home. However, the accuracy is lower due to differences in fat distribution and body shape.

The error margin is 2. The accuracy is lower or greater depending on how much a person is closer to the people that were used to develop the equations.

Hydrostatic weighing hydro densitometry or underwater weighing : Hydrostatic weighing uses body density to guess its composition. During the procedure, a person is weighed while submerged in the water, and the air is exhaled from the lungs. The weight is again calculated while the person is on the land, and the amount of air leaving the lungs during exhalation is calculated.

Then an equation is used to estimate the body density, which is then used to guess the fat percentage in the body.

It is a quick and accurate method. However, submerging under the water is only pleasing for some people. Air displacement plethysmography BodPod : It is similar to hydrostatic weighing and estimates the fat percentage by calculating the body's density. However, instead of water, it uses air. The ADP device uses the link between air pressure and volume to calculate the body's density.

The person is made to sit inside an oval-shaped chamber , and the air pressure is altered. For more accurate measurement, a bathing suit or skin-tight dress must be worn during testing. It is a quick and easy method and doesn't require a person to be submerged in water.

However, it is expensive and has limited availability. It is available only at specific fitness centres and medical facilities. Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis BIA : It is done using the BIA device , which detects how a body responds to minute electrical signals.

The electrodes are placed on the skin for that purpose. The transmitting electrodes send signals into the body, and the receiving electrodes receive them after passing through various body tissues. Due to more water in the muscles than in the fat, the electric current move more easily through the muscles than through fats.

The device uses the values of physical responses to current to calculate the fat percentage. The advantages and disadvantages of BIA depend upon the devices being used, which are available in various types. In general, it is much easier and quicker. However, the accuracy depends upon the device used, and food and water intake greatly influence the results.

The devices available at fitness clinics and medical facilities are more sophisticated and accurate than those available for users. The average error rate is 3.

Bioimpedance spectroscopy BIS : Its working mechanism is similar to the BIA, but the technology differs. It uses a greater number of electrical impulses than the BIS. It uses different information analysis systems; some experts think it provides higher accuracy than the BIA.

The accuracy depends on how much a person is close to the standards used to develop BIS devices. It is easy and quick; however, consumer-grade devices are unavailable, and they must be conducted at specific medical centres and fitness centres.

Electrical Impedance Myography EIM : Its working mechanism is similar to BIS and BIA. It uses electrical responses to determine body composition. However, unlike the previous method, it doesn't send signals to the whole body and targets a smaller area.

The technology is being used to prepare small devices placed on certain body areas to estimate the fat percentage in these areas. It is thus very close to skin fold callipers, but the technology used is markedly different. It is easy and quick.

However, the accuracy of these devices is questionable as some cheap devices available in the market are highly inaccurate. Limited information is available about accuracy, although some studies have claimed an error margin of 2.

Some devices use a rotating platform where the patients are able to stand for several minutes while the sensors prepare the model by scanning the body. The other models use scanners that rotate around the body.

The data generated is fed into the equations by the devices to calculate the fat percentage. The 3D scanners are very similar to the circumference measurements. Multi-component models: The multi-component models are the most accurate methods for measuring body composition.

In these models, the body is split into various compartments, the most common being three or four. Then, various tests are conducted to estimate body contents like bone mass, water content, body volume and fat mass.

The tests mentioned above, like ADP or hydrostatic weighing, are used for body volume, BIA or BIS for body water, and DEXA scans for bone content. What are the Different Types of Body Fat? Based on the colour and distribution of fat in the body, there are the following types; Brown fat: Known as thermogenic fat , it is energy storage and burns to release energy in some situations like cold weather.

The brown fat stores the energy in smaller droplets that are specialised to burn easily. It is around the neck, chest, heart, adrenal glands and kidneys.

People with more brown fat are healthier and leaner, which lowers the risk of diseases and improves metabolism. White fat: It is the predominant type of body fat. It stores energy in larger fat droplets that are harder to burn.

Besides storing energy, it secretes various hormones like adiponectin and leptin. It is present in the abdomen, legs and chest.

Beige fat: Sometimes, the brown fat changes into beige fat, called brite fat. It burns to release energy. The beige fat behaves like both the brown and white fat. It stores energy like white fat, and when the body is exposed to stress, it breaks down like brown fat to release energy.

It is found in smaller pea-sized deposits along the spine and under the skin near the collarbone. Visceral fat: It is stored around the major organs like the liver and kidney and deep in the abdomen.

The buildup increases with age, and women develop more fat in the abdomen. Like other fats, it breaks down to produce fatty acids, which cause metabolic issues like insulin resistance.

It insulates the body from heat and cold. Full upper body fat: It is caused by overeating , particularly sugary foods, and stored in upper compartments. Lower abdominal fat occurs due to depression, anxiety and stress and is stored in the lower abdomen.

Lower body fat: It develops due to excessive gluten content in the diet and is stored in the lower body. Lower body fat in the legs: It is hereditary and develops during pregnancy.

The hormonal disturbances cause changes in the fat distribution in the body. Stomach and upper back fat develop due to low physical activity. Excess sugars and processed foods increase the risk of fat deposition in the upper back, particularly in women. How Does Body Fat Affect the Body Composition?

How to Improve the Body Composition? Exercise training and physical exercises: Physical activities allow a person to burn unwanted calories stored as fat and improve the strength and size of muscles. Some exercises, like weight training, are very effective, and others help in weight loss.

Spending just minutes weekly on physical activities and exercises results in a significant decrease in fat mass and a modest decrease in total weight, says Damon L. Swift , PhD. Spending minutes weekly or higher times are recommended for significant Weight loss.

Besides the fat loss, both strength and aerobic exercises improve the muscles' tone, strength and size. Reduce caloric intake: Excess fat accumulation results from taking extra calories that the body is able to burn, which are then stored as fat.

So, any program intended to improve body composition must include nutritional factors. A diet that consistently provides lower calories than the physical requirements of the body results in weight loss. Some foods responsible for weight gain are processed foods like fries, pizza, ice cream etc.

A good practice is to calculate the daily calorie intake by adding the caloric values of all the food taken throughout the day and using a calorie-restricted diet to achieve a consistently lower caloric intake.

Increase protein intake: Proteins are more satisfying for the abdomen, and their metabolism consumes more calories than the other nutrients. Increase the fibre in diet: Fibrous contents in the food cause feelings of fullness in the body and have various other health benefits, and it is important to add more fibre to the diet from sources like vegetables, fruits, nuts, whole grains and beans.

The diet must provide at least 38g of fibre to men and 25g to adults men under Sleep: The research has found that the body composition in people taking hours of sleep is better than those with sleep deprivation or poor quality sleep.

As humans age, there is a natural increase in fat mass coupled with a gradual decline in lean mass, specifically in bone and muscle mass. Individuals with a high body fat percentage are at a greater risk of cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, several types of cancer, and early mortality.

Significant decreases in bone mineral density signify osteopenia and osteoporosis, while reductions in skeletal muscle mass increase the risk of developing sarcopenia. Moreover, undernutrition exacerbates the effects of many medical conditions and is important to address.

Though weight tracking and calculation of BMI are used commonly by clinicians and dietitians, these measures do not provide insight on the relative contributions of fat mass and fat-free mass or the changes in these compartments that may reflect disease risk.

Therefore, it is important that healthcare professionals have a critical understanding of body composition assessment and the strengths and limitations of the methods available. If you only focus on losing weight, you may end up losing muscle mass and eventually sabotage your efforts.

By differentiating between muscle and body fat, body composition removes the guesswork of determining what your weight fluctuations mean, be it muscle gain, body fat loss, or anything in between. Many assume that having as little fat as possible is healthy.

Furthermore, those classified as skinny fat are typically unaware of their potential health risks because visceral fat cannot be measured with BMI and scales, so it goes undetected. Whether you fall into one of the above categories or want to start making healthy changes, understanding your muscle-fat balance is a great place to start.

A healthy balance of fat and muscle is a vital component of long-term health. Having sufficient muscle mass helps bolster the immune system to fight off illnesses, support good posture, enhance mobility, and prevent frailty in old age.

Many individuals will fall within one of four different body composition categories below. Knowing your body composition helps you design an effective, personalized fitness and nutrition plan. A balanced body composition can be healthy or unhealthy depending on your body fat percentage.

Their body fat percentage may be lower than average. To learn more about how to understand your body composition results, check out the result sheet interpretation page.

A healthy body composition contributes to a stronger immune system and reduces your health risk for common chronic diseases and conditions like high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, and type 2 diabetes.

Find your baseline so you can know what you need to lose, gain, or maintain. Assess your Percent Body Fat so you can focus on fat loss, not just weight loss. Maximize your workout routine to fit your unique health and fitness goals.

Calculate your caloric needs and create a personalized nutrition plan. You can easily track progress and measure the effectiveness of your diet and exercise regimen using body composition.

There are several essential body composition outputs that you can use to track your progress over time:. Percent Body Fat or Body Fat Percentage is a more accurate indicator of your health than your body weight or BMI because it tells you exactly how much fat mass makes up your total body weight.

Skeletal Muscle Mass is crucial for mobility, posture, and strong immunity for long-term health. Body composition analysis shows you precisely how much Skeletal Muscle Mass you have in each body segment, so you can focus on building more muscle or correct imbalances to ensure you have a healthy muscle mass balance.

Your Total Body Water TBW is divided into two groups: extracellular water ECW , which is the water outside your cells, and intracellular water ICW , which is the water within your cells. A healthy balance of body water is critical for good health. With body composition analysis, you can identify any changes and address them to maintain a healthy balance.

There are many ways to determine your body composition. Some are quick and easy but only provide basic information. Some are time-consuming and expensive and require the assistance of a trained technician to administer a test. Here are a few popular body composition methods:. One of the anthropometric methods used for measuring body fat is the skinfold test.

It is also known as pinch test. As the name implies, this method involves pinching the subcutaneous fat layer with fingers and measuring the thickness using a caliper. Calipers easily portable, and measurement is simple and inexpensive.

However, this method involves estimating the total Percent Body Fat PBF based on subcutaneous fat. Although a large portion of body fat is subcutaneous fat, the measurement may not be accurate for people whose body fat distributions vary.

Also, measurement is difficult if the subcutaneous fat layer thickness is 5 cm or more and reproducibility of the result varies greatly depending on the skills of the measurer.

Hydrostatic Weighing Underwater weighing calculates the total body fat by the density of the body. Underwater weighing is regarded as the gold standard for body composition measurement as it is one of the only body composition technologies that have been compared directly to cadaver analysis.

This method measures the volume of a human body by measuring the volume of air according to the changes in pressure in a chamber. First, weight and volume of the person are used to calculate body density and then Percent Body Fat and the fat-free ratio. Time required for measurement is relatively short at minutes and the examinee can continue breathing in the chamber as opposed to underwater weighing.

This method is known as a gold standard because it allows body composition analysis and produces accurate measurements using volume just like underwater weighing.

DEXA is an imaging method that measures the body weight in terms of BMC, lean, and fat based on the decrement of X-ray on the images obtained by exposing to two different X-rays. With the patient lying down, photons of the X-ray beams of different energy levels scan the patient.

It takes about 5 to 30 minutes. As a standard method for body composition analysis, DEXA has high accuracy along with hydrodensitometry. Its advantage is that it can measure the body composition of bone density, body fat and muscle mass for different parts. Advancements to the technology affords DEXA the ability to differentiate lean and fat, allowing this technology to advance from a 2 compartment model to a 3 compartment model.

In order to get a DEXA scan performed, you will typically need to make an appointment with a hospital or clinic that has a DEXA device. You may need to do some research; not all hospitals and clinics will have DEXA devices.

Magnetic resonance is a form of imaging technique where the body water may be mapped but not quantified. The body is scanned in segmental slices scans are used to predict whole-body values. MRI is considered to be the most accurate tool for in vivo quantification of body composition.

It is an ideal evaluation tool for measurement of skeletal muscle mass and adipose tissue and can divide adipose into visceral and subcutaneous depots. However, since there is no ionizing radiation, this is a preferable option for many elderly, children, etc.

Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis BIA is a method of measuring impedance by applying alternating electrical currents to a user to measuring their volume of water through impedance values.

A low-level electrical current is sent through the body, and the flow of the current is affected by the amount of water in the body. BIA devices measure how this signal is impeded through different types of tissue muscle has high conductivity but fat slow the signal down.

As BIA determines the resistance to flow of the current as it passes through the body, it provides estimates of body water from which body fat is calculated using selected equations.

Most people know that we should focus on proper nutrition and exercise. The challenge is where to begin. Here are your first steps:. Assess—Start by measuring your body composition and setting a body composition goal.