Why Check My Body Composition?

Body composition testing is simply an assessment that will tell you what your body is composed of in regards to muscle and fat. Measuring body fat percentage is one of the greatest markers to assess Aging and for Overall Health.

It is well-known as we age our bodies go through a transformation of losing muscle and gaining fat. This process promotes aging and chronic disease. I don�t know about you but I think we age fast enough without speeding up the process. We need to periodically (minimum of twice a year) check our body composition and compare it to our previous test. It is a fact that what gets measured gets managed.

There are two important aspects of the test. First is how much body fat do you have compared to healthy standards but even more important is how has it changed since your last evaluation. Have you been losing 2% of muscle each year for the last three years? Has your body fat been steadily climbing every six months? Knowledge is power and if you understood how your body is changing as you age you can manage the problem before you get into crisis.

Bio Impedence Analysis Testing is used to properly assess body composition. This process is a non-invasive, quick testing procedure that provides comprehensive data:

How is your metabolism? Has is slowed down and is that why you are gaining five pounds a year since high school?
How much muscle mass do you current have?
What is your current percentage of body fat?
Are you holding excess body water?
Could your body be storing harmful environmental toxins? This can hurt your ability to lose weight and causing your chronic fatigue and depression?

>Click on this CBS NEWS link about Body Composition<

Weight Loss

Are you currently on a weight loss program? The only thing research has proven across the board on weight loss programs is that most programs cause you to gain more fat after the program is done.

Why would most weight loss programs cause weight gain!?

In most cases, weight loss programs cause a loss of both body fat and muscle. When you lose muscle your body�s metabolism begins to slow. Metabolism is the engine of your body and the slower the engine, the less burning of calories. We can not afford to lose any muscle during a weight loss program.

Using body composition testing you can measure your loss of body fat while making sure you are not losing muscle.

Here is an example:

Michelle only uses a scale to determine her success with weight loss. She begins an exercise program and starts eating a very healthy diet. Six weeks later she gets on the scale and it shows that she only lost 2lbs. She becomes extremely frustrated and spends half the day at Krispy Kr�me!

If Michelle would have complete body composition testing before and after she would have noticed her body composition changed dramatically. Although she started the program weighing 145lbs. and after the six weeks she still weighed 143lbs, her body composition changed from 30% to 25% in six weeks. That is a total loss of 7.25lbs of body fat! The reason that the scale was inaccurate in weight loss is because she gained fat-burning muscle in the process.

Muscle Maintenance

The fact is that one of the best methods of maintaining your body is to maintain muscle mass. Did you know that adding one extra pound of muscle to your body can burn up to three extra pounds of fat a year! If you can add one pound of muscle in a year you are actually reversing your aging. Your biologically age can literally become younger year after year! The ability to evaluate your muscle mass can only be done with body composition testing.

Your Overall Health

Studies are starting to show that the average adult starts to begin losing muscle tissue at the early age of twenty. If you are not testing you may suffer from advanced loss of muscle tissue before you see any symptoms! See the silent changes occurring in your body each year before they turn into symptoms such as osteoporosis, loss of function, disability, advanced arthritis, etc. Remember what gets measured gets managed.

Sports Performance

As an athlete it is even more important to assess body composition on a regular basis. A small change in body composition as a runner, bodybuilder, cyclist, etc. can have a significant effect on performance. Excess body fat or loss of muscle tissue as an athlete will effect agility, speed, endurance and risk of injury.

Ideal Body Fat Percentage

The bottom line is there is no perfect body fat percentage. Your sex, age, activity level and body style all have an effect on body fat percentage. Lower is not always better because your body requires an essential amount of body fat. Although it is not usually a concern, it is important to understand that going too low in body fat can be dangerous (12% for woman and 3% for men).

There are general guidelines and charts that can be used to get an idea of a range that is healthy but it should not be a goal to get below the range. Simply use these charts as general guidelines but use your measurements, your look, your feeling, your energy levels and your performance as markers to assess the level at which you feel best.

Body Fat Percentage for The Average Population
Age
Up to 30
30-50
50+
Females
14-21%
15-23%
16-25%
Males
9-15%
11-17%
12-19%

Average Body Fat Percentage of Athletes
Sport
Male
Female
Sport
Male
Female
Baseball
12-15%
12-18%
Rowing
6-14%
12-18%
Basketball
6-12%
20-27%
Shot Putters
16-20%
20-28%
Body building
5-8%
10-15%
Skiing (X country)
7-12%
16-22%
Cycling
5-15%
15-20%
Sprinters
8-10%
12-20%
Football (Backs)
9-12%
No data
Swimming
9-12%
14-24%
Football (Linemen)
15-19%
No data
Tennis
12-16%
16-24%
Gymnastics
5-12%
10-16%
Triathlon
5-12%
10-15%
High/long Jumpers
7-12%
10-18%
Volleyball
11-14%
16-25%
Ice/field Hockey
8-15%
12-18%
Weightlifters
9-16%
No data
Racquetball
8-13%
15-22%
Wrestlers
5-16%
No data