Beyond Limits Fitness

Body composition is used to describe the percentages of the body fat, muscle, and bone mass in the body. Mainly body composition is used to show the relative proportion of fat and fat-free tissue; this is also known as percent body fat. A body composition with elevated fat percentages is often associated with greater health risks; problems such as high blood pressure, type II diabetes, cardiovascular disease, stroke and abnormally high fat content in the blood may occur. Methods such as the use of body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, and skinfold calipers are used to determine body composition.  BMI uses the individual’s weight relative to their height to classify them into underweight, healthy or overweight. The only drawback being that BMI does not identify what type of tissue the weight is from. A very muscular individual will receive a false positive identifying them as overweight. Waist circumference categorizes individuals: a very high health risk is associated with a waist circumference of >88 cm for woman and >102 cm for men, while a very low health risk is associated with a waist circumference of <70 cm for woman and <80 cm for men. Skinfold tests accurately estimate the distribution of body fat. An equation involving the skinfold measurements is used to determine the percentage body fat based on the fat on the surface and assuming it is proportional to the total amount of fat. Skinfold test should be taken twice to ensure accuracy; if the results are not within 0.4mm a third test should be taken. The measurements that are within 0.4mm should be used, unless all three are equal-distant, then take the average of the three skinfolds.

Anthropometric Measurements:

Skinfolds:

Sum of Five Skin Folds (SO5S): 41.2 mm

Healthy Body Composition

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