BODY COMPOSITION
What is it and Why it matters?
What is body composition?
● Your body composition
determines what percentage of
your total body weight comes
from fat, muscle, and bone.
Knowing your body composition
provides more detailed
information about your health.
Two people can weigh the same
but have very different wellness
and fitness needs because of
their body composition.
● Method of describing what the
body is made of water, protein,
minerals, and fats.
● Provides a much more accurate
depiction of health and
description of weight than BMI.
● According to the 4 component
model, a person’s body breaks
down into water, protein, mineral,
and fat
● The human body is mainly made
up of water. Your fat, muscles,
blood, and other bodily fluids
● Reflection of the protein
contained in your body’s
muscles, organs, and bones.
● It also contains minerals which
are primarily contained in two
places; in the bloodstream and
inside the bone
● Fat is your stored energy
FAT-FREE MASS
● Is all the mass in your body that
is not attributed to fat.
● Contains a variety of different
components: all internal organs,
skeletal muscle mass, and body
water.
FAT MASS
● Allows the body to store energy,
protects internal organs, acts as
an insulator and regulates body
temperature.
● Maintaining too low or too high a
body fat percentage is generally
regarded as inadvisable for long-
term health.
Why is it important?
● Body composition is important
because it measures your overall
health and fitness level in terms
of your body fat percentage. Your
bathroom scale can’t tell the
difference between how much of
your weight comes from fat and
how much from muscle. But body
composition measurements can.
● Less fat and more muscle tend to
point toward a better level of
health.
MUSCLE FAT ANALYSIS
● Breaks down your weight
● uses bar graphs to provide a
comparison between weight,
skeletal muscle mass, and body
fat mass. The lengths of the bar
graphs indicate the relationship
between the current weight to the
average value for that specific
segment, based on the
examinee's height.
● SMM- Muscles you can work out
(quads, biceps, etc.)
● BODY FAT MASS- body fat
mass and SMM are the largest
components of body weight
● Aim for your SMM to be in normal
or over range and BFM in the
normal or under range
SKELETAL MUSCLE MASS
● Skeletal muscles comprise 30 to
40% of your total body mass.
They're the muscles that connect
to your bones and allow you to
perform a wide range of
movements and functions.
Skeletal muscles are voluntary,
meaning you control how and
when they work.
BODY MASS INDEX
● Focus on your percent body fat
● Calculates your obesity level
strictly on your height and weight
PERCENT BODY FAT
● According to the American
Journal of Clinical Nutrition, there
are healthy body fat percentages
based on your age. For people
aged 20 to 39, women should
aim for 21% to 32% of body fat.
Men should have 8% to 19%. For
people 40 to 59, women should
fall between 23% to 33% and
men should fall around 11% to
21%
● The ratio of your body fat mass
divided by your weight is a more
accurate representation of your
obesity risk
● Aim for your PBF to be in the
normal range (10-20% for males
and 18-28% for females as
suggested)
SEE MUSCLE DEVELOPMENT
● Top bar shows your lean mass in
pounds
● Bottom bar shows if there is
enough lean body mass to
support your current weight
● Aim for corresponding segments
to be equal lengths for right/left
balance and at or over the 100
mark
Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)
● is the number of calories you
burn as your body performs basic
(basal) life-sustaining function.
Commonly also termed as
Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR),
which is the calories burned if
you stayed in bed all day.
● Use BMR to fine-tune your diet
● Number of calories burned at rest
over the course of one day.
● It will increase as you gain body
mass
● You can use BMR and your daily
activity level to calculate the
number of calories you need to
eat in a day to achieve your
health and fitness goals
What is Body Fat?
Body fat includes all the stored fat in
your body.
There are two types of body fat:
● Subcutaneous fat: This is the
layer of fat under your skin. It
insulates and protects your body.
● Visceral fat: This is the fat that
surrounds and cushions your
abdominal organs.
In addition to insulating and protecting
your body, fat provides energy, carries
fat-soluble vitamins, makes certain
hormones, and serves as a building
block for cell membranes.
You need a certain amount of body fat
to perform these functions—-----this is
known as essential fat.
Body Fat Percentage Body Composition vs. Body Mass
Index
Body fat percentage is the percent of fat
that makes up your total body weight. ● Body Composition and body
Many factors influence your body fat mass index (BMI) are tools that
percentage, including sex, age, fitness assess body fatness. However,
level, and lifestyle. the methods used to measure
body composition and BMI differ.
The body fat percentage ranges come Additionally, BMI may not provide
from the American Council on Exercise accurate results in all situations.
(ACE). ● Health professionals use the BMI
to assess an individual’s risk for
disease based on their body
ACE Body Fat Percent Norms for fatness, or where they fall on the
Men and Women BMI table. But recent evidence
suggests that and may not serve
DESCRIPT as the best-or only- metric for
ION WOMEN MEN measuring body composition and
health.
Body Mass Index
Essential 10% to 2% to 5%
Fat 13% BMI is a tool that has been used by
health professionals to assess body
Athletes 14% to 6% to 13% fatness and health. It’s a mathematical
20% equation that compares your weight to
your height.
Fitness 21% to 14% to
24% 17% BMI = (weight in kilograms)/(height
meter squared)
Acceptable 25% to 18% to
31% 24% For example:

Obese Over 32% Over 25% 50 kg/160 cm (convert cm to meter;

Athletes tend to have a lower body fat
percentage than people who are
physically fit because having less fat
improves their athletic performance.
However, when body fat percentages
dip too low, athletic performance suffers,
and immune function declines.
On the flip side, a body fat percentage
that’s too high is a risk factor for chronic
illnesses like diabetes, high blood
pressure, and heart disease.
100cm=1 m) 160cm/100cm=1.60 m
50 kg/ 1.60m x 1.60m= 2.56m
50kg/2.56m =19.53 BMI
This BMI table is from the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
● Less than 18.5 = underweight
● 18.5 to 24.9 = healthy weight
● 25.0 to 29.9 = overweight
● 30 or higher = obesity
You don’t need any special equipment
to measure BMI, making it a quick tool
to assess body fat and health.
However, the BMI isn’t perfect and
may not accurately assess body
fatness in all people. For example, a
bodybuilder may have a BMI that puts
them in the overweight category but
have a low body fat percentage.
There are several ways to measure
body composition. However, you need
more than a bathroom scale and
calculator to figure out what percentage
of your weight comes from fat and what
percentage comes from muscle.
4. Connect clips to electrodes (Red
clip behind the knuckles) (Black
clip to the wrists) (Red clip behind
the toes) (black clip to the ankle)
5. Energize the device and record
results. Repeat reading once
again
6. Disconnect clips from electrodes
and remove them from the skin
FOOT TO FOOT MATERIALS
● BIA equipment
● Weight scale
● Height scale
PROCEDURE:

Bioelectrical Impedance 1. Measure the height and weight

2. Enter participant's characteristics
Bioelectrical impedance (BIA) is a tool 3. Ask participants to step on the
that estimates your body composition by device and record the results
measuring your body’s resistance to a
low-level electric current or impedance. Results- impedance value+
Muscles have a lower resistance to an demographics are used in the
electric current than fat. regression equation to estimate body
composition
TYPES OF BIA
The following cutpoints may define low
● Hand to foot lean mass:
● Foot to foot
HAND TO FOOT MATERIALS INDEX CUTPOINTS
● BIA equipment
Estimated muscle < 6.75 kg/m^2
● Wires with clips
mass (kg/m^2) (men)
● Electrodes
< 5.75 kg/m^2
● Exam table
(women)
PROCEDURE:
Fat-free mass < 14.6 kg/m^2
1. Participant removes jewelry and index (kg/m^2) (men)
lays down on the exam table <11.4 kg/m^2
2. Prepare the skin to receive (women)
electrodes by cleaning it with an
alcohol swab Skinfold Measurements
3. Place electrodes on hand and
foot - Skinfold measurements involve the
use of special calipers that measure
the skinfold—subcutaneous fat—on
different parts of your body. Fitness
trainers use skinfold measurements to
assess body fat because it’s quick and
convenient.
HOW TO PERFORM SKIN FOLD TEST
(female)
TRICEPS
1. Hold arm at a 90-degree angle
2. Acromion process to the elbow
3. Make a mark at a halfway point
4. Mark a horizontal cross +
ABDOMEN
1. Measure 2 cm from the belly
button
2. Make a cross mark horizontally
from the belly button+
SUPER ILIAC
1. Make a cross mark 2 cm diagonal
from the bone x
2. Pinch the skin: try to separate the
fat from the muscle
3. Take the skin fold caliper, and
place at the base where you are
pinching
4. Leave the caliper on the skin for
a few seconds and read
measurement
5. Remember: the abdominal is a
horizontal test, pinching+
6. Measure each site 3 times
rotating between sites
DEXA Scan
- The DEXA scan, or dual-energy X-ray
absorptiometry scan, uses a low-level X-
ray to measure bone, muscle, and body
fat.
- involves full submersion in a water
tank, using water displacement to
measure body composition. Since fat
floats and muscle sinks, a person with
more lean body mass weighs more
underwater.
Bod Pod
- Bod pod is similar to hydrostatic
weighing, but uses air displacement
instead of water displacement to
measure body composition. For this
test, you sit in an egg-shaped chamber,
which uses your body weight and
volume to determine your body
composition.
Factors to Consider
Body composition provides valuable
information about body fat percentage.
However, your body shape is unique to
you and there are uncontrollable factors
that affect your body composition
including
● Age: You lose muscle as you get
older, which affects your body
composition. However, age-
related muscle loss is most often
due to a decrease in physical
activity.
● Genes: Your genes determine
your body type and composition
and your inherited body type may
have more body fat that’s hard to
lose.
● Hormones: Hormones also
influence body composition.
Testosterone is a male sex
hormone that increases muscle
mass.
● Sex: Due to a combination of
genetics and hormones, women
have more body fat than men.
Changing your Body Composition
 - To change your body Skinfold Test
composition, you need the right
balance of physical activity and 8%-11% margin of error
nutrition to reach your goals.
Slow and steady changes work
best when you want to increase
muscle and lose fat. It's important
to remember that some factors
will remain out of your control.
- Before making any changes to
your diet or workout routine,
consult with your primary care
provider or a registered dietitian
for guidance.
A WORD
Your body composition may help you
better understand your current level of
health and fitness. It can also serve as a
measuring tool to monitor progress
when starting a new fitness or wellness
program.
When trying to change your physique to
improve your fitness level, it’s important
to implement a safe and effective
workout routine and a balanced eating
plan. Seek advice from a health care
professional before making any major
changes to your diet or exercise routine.
HOW TO MEASURE BODY
COMPOSITION (%= Margin of error)
DEXA SCAN
16% margin of error
Underwater weight
1%-3% margin of error
Bodpod
1%-3% margin of error
BIA SCALE
3%-8% margin of error