Kristee PhelpsWellness Coordinator

Questions about body

composition:
What is body composition?
What are fat-free mass, essential, and non-

essential fat, and what are their functions in

the body?
How does body composition affect wellness?
How are body composition and body fat
distribution measured?
What is recommended body weight and how
is it determined?

What is body
composition?
The proportion of fat and fat-free mass (muscle,
bone, organs, and water) in the body.
Healthy body composition involves a high
proportion of fat-free mass and an acceptably low
level of body fat, adjusted for age and gender.
How to lose fat?
Through a lifestyle that includes a sensible diet and

exercise.

How to add muscle mass?

Through resistance training/strength training.

What are fat-free mass, essential fat, and

Fat Free mass
non-essential
fat, and what are their
The non-fat component of the human body consisting of skeletal muscle,
functions
in and
the
body?
bone, organs,
water.
Essential fat
The fat in the body necessary for normal body function

Includes lipids incorporated into nerves, brain, heart, lungs, liver and
mammary glands.
These fat deposits are crucial for normal body functioning

3% for Men, and 12% for women.

Non-essential fat (Storage Fat)

Extra fat or fat reserves stored in the body.
Adipose tissue (fat cells) exists primarily just below the skin (subcutaneous)

and around major organs (visceral).

The amount of storage fat varies from person to person based on many
factors:

Gender, age, heredity, metabolism, diet, and activity level

Fat Distribution and Assessment of Fat

Distribution
Men and women and regional fat distribution:
Men often carry their excess fat in the abdominal region

(apple shape/android obesity).

Women often carry excess fat in the hips, thighs, and
buttocks (pear shape/gynoid obesity).

Assessment of Fat Distribution

Two simplest forms are waist circumference

measurement, and waist-to-hip calculation.

Waist circumferencesimply measure your waist. Right at

the umbilicus (belly button) and top of the iliac crest (top of
the hip bone).
Waist-to-hip calculationtake you waist measurement
divided by your hip measurement.

Assessment Results
You are at high risk for disease if you fall

above these ranges:

MenWaist Circumference: > 40 in

Waist-to-Hip Measurement: > 0.94

WomenWaist Circumference: > 35 in
Waist-to-Hip Measurement: > 0.82
Try this out with your tape measure.
Partner up and calculate on your handout.

How does body composition affect

wellness?
Think about this
Two women who are 55 and weigh 130 lbs. One

woman is a runner and has 15% body fat. The

second woman is sedentary who has 33% body fat.
Although both women are not overweight by many
standards, the second woman is overfat.

Measuring body weight is not an accurate way to

assess body composition because it does not

differentiate between muscle weight and fat
weight.
Remember that muscle is more dense that fat. A
fit person can easily weigh more than an unfit
person.

 Overweight: characterized by a body weight above a

recommended range for good health; ranges are set through

large scale population surveys.
Obesity: severely overweight, characterized by an excessive
accumulation of body fat 25% of body weight or more as fat
in men, and 32% or more as fat in women. Obesity may also
be defined in terms of some measure of total body weight.
Percent Body Fat Standards for men and women
Men
At risk
Below average
Average
Above average
At risk

Women
< 5%
6-14%
15%
16-24%
> 25%

< 8%
9-22%
23%
24-31%
> 32%

*These vary on age and gender, please follow the healthy standards emailed to you
for your age and gender.

At RiskWhat does that mean?

Negative Health Consequences of Obesity
Early death
Death from CVD
Hypertension
Diabetes and insulin resistance
Gallbladder disease
Cancer of the colon, prostate,

esophogus, gallbladder,
ovaries, endometrium, breast,
and cervix
Arthritis and gout
Back Pain

Complications during

pregnancy
Menstrual abnormalities
Shortness of breath
Sleep apnea
Increased LDL and
triglycerides
Decreased HDL levels
Impaired heart function
Impaired immune function

A healthy body composition is vital for

wellness throughout life. Strong scientific

evidence suggests that controlling your
weight will increase your life span; reduce the
risk of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, insulin
resistance, and back pain; increase your
energy level, and improve your self-esteem

How are body

composition and fat
distribution measured?

Body Mass Indexalso known as height and weight charting.

These are of limited value for athletes because they make no

distinction between fat and fat-free mass. However the average
person, BMI are of value to predict risk in the general population.
BMI = (weight x 703)/(height in inches)
Normal: 18-24.99; Overweight: 25-29.99; Obese: 30 +
Using this criteria, 64.5 % of American adults are considered overweight or obese.
Again, BMI should not be used for athletic /highly muscular individuals as it may falsely

identify them as being overweight.

Waist Circumferenceuse of tape measure. With a tape measure

you can measure anything on your body that you are wanting to
lose inches. As seen before, and what we did in our assessments.
Skinfold Methoda practical and inexpensive method. Only
measure subcutaneous fat. Available at the RWC if you are a
member.

Other Forms of
Assessments

Hydrostatic Weighing-water displacement

Bod PodAir displacement
Bioelectrical ImpedanceOur scale is a form of this method
Ultrasoundsound waves to measure adipose tissue

thickness.
Infrared
Creatine Excretion
Total Body Potassium
3-Methylhistidine Excretion
Measurement of Total Body Water
Dual Energy X-ray Absorbiometry (DEXA); also used for bone
density

What is recommended body weight and

how is it determined?
If the assessment test indicate that fat loss would be

beneficial to you, your first step is to establish a goal.

Choose a target value for percent body fat or BMI.
Select a goal that is realistic for you and will ensure
good health.
Keep heredity in mind when making this decision.
Keep body types in mind.
Talk to the wellness coordinator for healthy choices.
Work on small victories first!

Calculate Desirable Weight from

Target
A. ConvertBMI
your height to meters by multiplying your height
in inches by 0.0254.
B. Square your height measurement
C. Multiply your target BMI by your height in meters,
squared, to get your target weight in kilograms.
D. Multiply your target weight kilograms by 2.2 to get your
desirable weight in pounds.
Example: 190 lbs. male who is 57 and has a BMI of 29.9 and
percent body fat of 26. He set a goal of a 26 BMI and 18
for percent body fat. What is his desirable weight?
a. 67 in x 0.0254 m/in = 1.7 m
b. 1.7 m x 1.7 m = 2.89 m
c. 26 kg/m x 2.89 m = 75.1 kg
d. 75.1 kg x 2.2 lb/kg = 165 lbs

Calculate Desirable Weight from Target Body Fat

Percentages
To determine the fat weight in your body, multiply your current
weight by percent body fat.
B. Subtract the fat weight from your current weight to get your
current fat-free weight.
C. Subtract your target percent body fat from 1 to get target percent
fat-free weight.
D. To get your desirable body weight, divide your fat-free weight by
your target percent fat-free weight.
Example: Use the same male.
a. 190 lbs x 0.26 = 49.4 lbs (fat weight)
b. 190 lbs 49.4 lbs = 140.6 lbs (fat-free weight)
c. 1 0.18 = 0.82 (target fat-free %)
d. 140.6 lb 0.82 = 171 lbs.
A.

*Target body weight: 165-171 lbs (take both the weights you figured for a
target range)

Body Types
Ectomorphs
Tall and thin and have long arms and legs. These individuals have difficulty

gaining weight and muscle no matter how much they eat or how hard they
weight train. They have the body type you tend to see on ballet dancers,
long-distance runners, and some basketball players. A very small proportion
of the population has this type of body

Mesomorphs
Muscular, shorter, and have stocky arms and legs. These people are strong

and tend to gain muscle mass when they do strength training. They may
find it difficult to lose weight, but they excel in power activities like soccer,
softball, and sprinting.

Endomorphs
Shaped like apples or pears (android or gynoid) and carry more body fat.

Their bodies resist losing weight and body fat no matter how restrictive they
are with their eating. These body types are resistant to famine and
starvation. They excel in activities like weight lifting.

Common Questions
Is spot reducing effective?
Losing fat in a specific area of the body by doing exercises for

those parts. They only contribute to fat loss only to extent that
exercises burn calories. The only way you can reduce fat in any
specific area is to create an overall negative energy balance.
Take in less energy (food) than you use up in through exercise
and metabolism.

How does exercise affect body composition?

Cardiovascular training burns calories, thereby creating a

negative energy balance. Weight training increases muscle

mass, which maintains a high metabolic rate and helps improve
body composition. Muscle mass burn the calories at rest. So
combining both elements is a quick way to cut body fat.

Any other questions?