BODY

COMPOSITION

TECHNIQUES TO ASSESS BODY

COMPOSITION
BODY
COMPOSITION
Describes what the body is
made up of.

The relative percentage of

muscle, fat, bone and
another tissue of the body.
Percent Body Fat Lean Body Mass
• The percentage of total body weight that • Body weight without body fat
is composed of fat.
ESSENTIAL FAT
• This type of fat is found within tissues
such as muscles, nerve cells, bone marrow,
intestines, heart, liver, and lungs.
Amenorrhea- absent or infrequent menstruation.
Body fat below 10 – criteria used by clinicians in
diagnosing eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa
NONESSENTIAL FAT
•
Fat that is stored above essential fat levels
STORAGE FAT
• Fat stored in adipose tissue, mostly
just beneath the skin (subcutaneous
fat) and around major organs in the
body (intra-abdominal or visceral
fat)
Basic Functions:
• Insulator to retain body heat
• Energy substrate for metabolism
• Padding against physical trauma of
the body
WHY DOES BODY COMPOSITION MATTER?
S O T H A T YO U C A N D E T E R M I N E WH ET H E R P E O P L E A R E T RU L Y O V E R WE I G H T O R F A L S E L Y
A T R E C O M M E N D E D B O D Y WE I G H T .

O VE RWE IG H T O B E S IT Y
• A clinical term that implies higher than • A clinical term for a condition that is
normal levels of body fat and potential characterized by an excessive amount of
risk for development of obesity. body fat (or extremely high BMI).
THE WAY PEOPLE STORE FAT AFFECTS
THE RISK FOR DISEASE
A ND R O ID O B E S I T Y IS S E EN IN G Y N O I D O B E S I T Y IS S E E N IN
IN D IV I DU A L S WH O T E ND TO S TO R EP E O P L E WH O S TO R E FAT
FAT IN T H E T R U NK O R A B D O M IN A LP RI M A RI LY A R O U N D T H E H IP S A N D
A RE A T H IG H S
 THE WAY PEOPLE STORE FAT AFFECTS
THE RISK FOR DISEASE
T H O S E WI T H FAT D E P O S I T S
L O C AT E D A R O U N D I NT E R N AL
O RG A N S ( V IS CE R A L FAT O R IN T R A -
A B D O M I N A L FAT ) H AV E A N E V E N
G RE AT E R RI S K F O R D IS E A S E
T H O S E W IT H FAT D E P O S IT S R IG H T
B E N E AT H T H E S K IN
( S U B C UTA N E O U S A N D
R E T R O P E R ITO N E A L FAT ) H AV E A
B E T T E R M E TA B O L IC P RO F IL E
T H A N P E O P L E WI T H A D IP O S E
T I S S U E T H AT IS P RI M A RI LY
V IS C E R A L FAT
TECHNIQUES
TO ASSESS
BODY
COMPOSITION
1. DUAL ENERGY X-RAY
ABSORPTIOMETRY
• method used to assess body composition
that used frequently in research and by
medical facilities.
• uses very low-dose beams of x-ray energy
to measure total body fat mass, fat
distribution pattern, and bone density.
• provides highly accurate measure of the
body composition for research,
• Expensive
2. HYDROSTATIC WEIGHING
• underwater technique to assess
body composition
• requires a considerable amount of
time, skill, space and equipment
and must be administered by a well
technician.
• Disadvantages: each individual
assessment takes for as long as 30
minutes
3. AIR DISPLACEMENT (AIR
DISPLACEMENT PLETHYSMOGRAPHY),
• Technique to assess body composition by Bod Pod device that uses the same
calculating the body volume from the air principle in underwater weighing, but relies
replaced by an individual sitting inside a on air displacement to assess body
small chamber. composition.
• Assessment takes about 15 minutes
• Body volume = Air volume with the
person inside the chamber - volume of the
empty chamber.
4. SKINFOLD THICKNESS
ANTH RO P O METRIC MEASUREMENT TECH NIQ UES - T H E S E TECHNIQUES
(SKIN FOLDS A ND GIRTH M EASU REM ENTS) ALL OW QU IC K, SIM PL E AN D INEX PEN SIV E
E S T I M AT E S O F B O D Y C O M P O S I T I O N .

• Technique to assess body composition by

measuring a double thickness of skin at
specific body sites. Done with the aid of
calipers
5. BIOELECTRICAL IMPEDANCE

• simpler to administer but accuracy is

questionable
• sensors are applied to the skin and a weak
electrical current is run through the body
to measure its electrical resistance
• Dehydration can bias the result and it is
critical to not have measures taken within
3 to 4 hours after a meal.
6. GIRTH MEASUREMENTS

• the type of assessment that

requires only a standard
measuring tape
• techniques to assess body
composition by measuring
circumference at specific body
site.
WAIST-TO-HIP CIRCUMFERENCE
RATIO (WHR)
• a measurement used to see if you’re
overweight, and if that excess weight
is putting you at risk.
• WHR= Waist circumference/ Hip
circumference

Health Risk Women Men

Low 0.80 or lower 0.95 or lower

Moderate 0.81-0.85 0.96-1.0

High 0.86 or higher 1.0 or higher

WAIST CIRCUMFERENCE

• A waist girth measurement to assess potential risk for

disease based on intra-abdominal fat content.

Men Women Disease Risk

<35.5 <32.5 Low

35.5-40.0 32.5-35.0 Moderate

>40.0 >35.0 High

 WAIST-TO-HEIGHT RATIO
• A waist-to-height ratio assessment equally applicable to tall and short persons used to
determine potential risk for disease based on excessive body weight.
• - WHtR is determined simply by dividing the waist circumference in inches by the
height in inches.

Health categories according to waist-to-height ratio

Category WHtR Disease Risk

Take Care <.4 Increased

Acceptable .4-.5 Very Low

Take Care .5-.7 Increased

Take action >.7 High

METRIC USED TO ASSESS BODY SIZE AND SHAPE

7. BODY MASS INDEX (BMI)

• -widely used over recent decades to

determine thinness and excessive
fatness.
• BMI incorporates height and
weight to estimate critical fat
values at which the risk for disease
increases.
• BMI = [height (m)2 / weight (kg)].