Measuring Your Body Composition.
Choose one activity to challenge yourself with (something new or something harder about what you have been doing). Write a short essay about what you did and how the experience went. Is this something that you’ll do again? What benefit does challenging yourself have? 133 avg. word count
Notes:
I challenge myself to remove any negativity, fatty foods, toxin from my life.
Yes, I would do this again.
What I did and how the experience went ?
The benefits of challenging myself give me the opportunity to grow mentally physically and healthy in my strength, spirit, body and soul
Lesson 4:
Take Charge of your composition
Measuring Your Body Composition
What the heck is BMI? The formula for Body Mass Index is based on your height and weight. The best use for BMI is for risk assessment. Most people believe BMI is used to calculate body fat, but unfortunately, this is not the case. The calculation is not accurate for everyone. A healthy BMI is between 18.5 and 25. You can estimate BMI by following the formula charts listed below. Both charts use the compilation by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI).
If you want a faster way to learn your BMI, follow this link:
www.healthatoz.com
* Disease risk for type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and CVD.
+ Increased waist circumference can also be a marker for increased risk even in persons of normal weight.
Chart 2
Chart 1
Classification of Overweight and Obesity by BMI, Waist Circumference,
and Associated Disease Risks
Disease Risk* Relative to Normal Weight and Waist Circumference
BMI
(kg/m2)
Obesity
Class
Men 102 cm (40 in) or less
Women 88 cm (35 in) or less
Men > 102 cm (40 in)
Women > 88 cm (35 in)
Underweight
< 18.5
–
–
Normal
18.5 – 24.9
–
–
*Overweight
25.0 – 29.9
Increased
High
*Obesity
30.0 – 34.9
I
High
Very High
35.0 – 39.9
II
Very High
Very High
*Extreme Obesity
40.0 +
III
Extremely High
Extremely High
Adult BMI is used by doctors to determine if a person is underweight, at a healthy weight or overweight. It’s an accurate formula for most people, but it doesn’t work for everyone. It’s important to know that:
You could have a normal BMI and have poor nutrition.
You could have a high BMI and weight that is considered healthy if you are muscular or an athlete.
If you feel that you are at a risky weight, you should talk to your doctor.
A BMI of 30 or more is considered obese. This increases your possibility for serious health risks, such as heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure. It has also been determined by a recent study that obesity and depression often go hand-in-hand in middle-aged women. Women with clinical depression were more than twice as likely to be obese (a BMI of 30 or more), and obese women were more than twice as likely to be depressed. The link between depression and obesity remained unchanged even when the researchers factored in education, marital status, tobacco and antidepressant use.
There are limitations since BMI cannot be used to calculate actual body fat. Growing children and very elderly, sedentary adults should avoid using BMI as a way to calculate body fat. However, it is a more accurate way of determining correct weight than the old height-weight charts. For example, a body builder may be 10 percent body fat and, at 250 pounds, be considered overweight by a typical weight chart.
Know Your Body Composition
We all have an ideal body weight and body fat percentage. This varies considerably for men and women by age. The minimum percent of body fat considered safe for good health is five percent for men and 12 percent for women. So then, how low is too low? In the United States and Europe, the average body fat is increasing. In the other direction, extremely low body fat percent is also a health problem.
Let’s use the example of female athletes and related health problems:
Menstrual disorders such as amenorrhea (no menstrual periods)
Low energy and eating disorders, such as anorexia and bulimia
Weak bones (higher risk of stress fractures)
Endangered cardiovascular system
Two people of the same the same height and body weight may look completely different from each other because they have a different body composition. Determining your body composition can be accomplished in a variety of ways. The most common and widely used is skinfold measurements. Typically, either a seven- or three-site skinfold may be calculated. For the sake of keeping it simple, we’ll use a three-site skin fold:
Three-site skinfold measurement for men:
Chest
Abdomen
Thigh
Three-site skinfold measurement for women:
Triceps
Suprailiac (top of the hip bone)
Thigh
There are two types of skinfold calipers commonly used. The Lange Skinfold Caliper is widely used in schools, colleges, and fitness centers. The price for this procedure ranges from $179 to $220. The Harpenden Skinfold Caliper is used mainly by health science researchers and is popular among exercise scienti
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