Two people of same sex and body weight may look completely different from each other because they have a different body composition. Body composition analysis is a method of describing what the body is made of differentiating between fat protein. As measures of body composition are developed more accurate measurements of fm and ffm can be established in various athletic populations. Below is a list of popular and not so popular body composition tests that are used in a variety of settings from simple tests for use at home and in fitness gyms to professional practices and research institutions. Taking skinfold measurements is a method often used by fitness trainers or as part of a weight loss program. If your ratio of body fat is much higher than your fat free mass then you could be putting yourself at risk for severe health problems such as obesity high blood pressure type 2 diabetes heart disease fatigue cancer and more.
Air force photo by joel martinez. Whether your main focus is rocking a bikini at the beach or living to be 100 there is one important piece of information that may get in the way. Body composition has a fundamental place in improving our understanding of health and disease states. Body composition is the bodys relative amount of body fat to fat free mass the latter of which is made up of your organs bones muscle and body tissue. Body composition is the proportion of fat and lean tissue in your body and a better indication of your health and fitness. This method is known as a gold standard because it allows body composition analysis and produces accurate measurements using volume just like underwater weighing.
However while much progress is being made there is much work to be done to optimize the biologically and clinically important information that can be derived from valid and reliable body composition measurements. Body composition measurements are useful in assessing the effectiveness of nutritional interventions and monitoring the changes associated with growth and disease conditions. Body composition is used to describe the percentages of fat bone water and muscle in human bodies. This is another example of why thinking about your body composition rather than just body weight is a good idea. Body composition reference values for a larger range of sports including positional differences in sports where this may be significantly different. Body composition is known to be associated with several diseases such as cardiovascular disease diabetes cancers osteoporosis and osteoarthritis.
This means that future research should aim to determine. 9 body composition measurements and what they mean. Body composition and growth are key components of health in both individuals and populations. Other factors additional factors beyond nutrition and exercise may affect body. There are many different ways of measuring the amount of body fat or body composition which vary in accuracy ease of measurement costs and equipment requirements.