Body Composition
Female vs. Males
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3-4 inches shorter
Weighs 25 – 30 lbs less
10 – 15 lbs more fat tissue
Both Men and Women’s increase with age
Female vs. Males
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Both Men and
Women’s Body Mass
Index increase with
age
Age
Males
Females
20 – 29
21.6
25
30 – 39
22.4
24.8
40 - 49
23.4
26.1
50 - 59
24.1
29.3
Over 60
23.1
28.3
Ideal Body Fat

20 – 27% for females
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Obese over 28%
15 – 19% for males

Obese over 23%
Types of Fat in the Body
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Essential fat:
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In the muscles, heart, lungs, liver, spleen,
intestines, kidneys, and bone marrow
Storage Fat: adipose tissue
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Subcutaneous tissue: the layer of adipose tissue
directly beneath the skin
Adipose Tissue: fatty tissue
Fat tissue protecting the internal organs
Difference in body fat %
W - Higher percentage of essential fat
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Women need 12% body fat
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to maintain their essential body-fat stores
maintain metabolic homeostasis
When below 12%, women experience
amenorrhea and hormone irregularities
Men only need 3%
Increased BF % and Performance
Reduction in Performance

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Especially Endurance Exercise
Any activity that requires Body Weight to be
supported
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W - decreased muscle mass
W - Increased BF%
Increased BF % and Performance
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Take a look at Table 2.4 (pg 30-31)
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Females manipulate and maintain BF% to
improve performance
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Optimal BF% for a sport
Aesthetic value of having low BF%
Body Type
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Mesomorph
Endomorph
Ectomorph
Measurement of Body Composition
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Height-Weight Charts
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least accurate for health risks
Body-mass index
Waist-to-hip ratio
Tanita (BioElectrical Impedence Analysis)
Skinfold Measurements
Hydrostatic Weighing
Bod-Pod
Height-Weight Charts (pg 199)
Body Frame size
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Thumb and middle finger around the wrist
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No overlap – Large frame
Touching or barely overlapping – Medium frame
Obvious overlap – Small frame
Height in 1” heels and elbow breadth
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Table 8.3
Height-Weight Charts (pg 199)
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Weight
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20% below – Underweight
20% above – Overweight
30% above – Obese
Height-Weight Charts (pg 199)
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Problems
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Muscularity can throw off chart’s validity
Emphasis on body weight rather than body
composition
Non-Caucasions are underrepresented
Age not a factor
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Weights are too high for young people
To low for the elderly
Correct for people in 40s
Body-Mass Index (BMI)
Components
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Body weight
Height
Previously Gold Standard
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Under 25 BMI
Interpreting BMI
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Underweight (under 19)
Desirable (19-25)
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Minimal to low risk
Attention to diet
Increased physical activity
Lifestyle changes
Increased health risks (26-29)
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Moderate risk
All of the preceding
Low-Calorie diet (800 to 1200 K a day)
Interpreting BMI
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Obese (30-40)
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High to very high
All of the preceding
Drug therapy
Very low calorie diet
Extremely Obese (more than 40)
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Extremely high risk
All of the preceding
Surgery intervention
Benefits vs. Problems
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Benefits
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Quick and easy to understand
Problems
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5- 10% of the population is incorrectly classified as obese
or overweight
Lowering of standard from 27 to 25 classified 30 million
people as overweight
Muscular athletes such as 6 foot, 190lb man and 6’ 1”,
220lb man are overweight and obese with BF% of 10% or
less
Skinfold Measurements
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Can be taken in either 9, 7, 4 or 3 locations
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Triceps
Biceps
Subscapula
Suprailiac
Abdominal
Medial Calf
Midaxillary
Front Thigh
Chest
Triceps
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Vertical fold
Posterior midline of
the upper arm
Halfway between the
acromion (shoulder)
and olecranon
processes (elbow)
Arm held freely to
the side of the body
Chest
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Diagonal fold
Men: one-half the
distance between crease
of the underarm and the
nipple
Women: one-third of the
distance between the
anterior axillary line and
the nipple
Midaxillary
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Vertical or
Horizontal fold
Midaxillary line at
the level of the
xiphoid process of
the sternum
Subscapular
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Diagonal fold
1 to 2 cm below
the inferior angle
of the scapula
Suprailiac
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Diagonal fold
Anterior axillary line
(modern technique)
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immediately superior to
the iliac crest
in line with the natural
angle of the iliac crest
taken
Mid-axillary line
(traditional technique)
Superior to the iliac crest
Abdominal
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Vertical fold
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2 cm or 1" to the right
side of the umbilicus
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Vertical fold
Anterior midline of the
thigh
Midway between the
proximal border of the
patella (upper knee)
and the inguinal
crease (hip)
Other Sites
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Biceps
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Vertical fold
Anterior aspect of the arm over the belly of the biceps
muscle
1 cm above the level used to mark the triceps site
Calf
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Vertical fold
maximum circumference of calf on the midline of medial
border
Tanita (BIA)
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A quick, fairly accurate
percent of body fat
uses electrodes attached
to the wrists and/or
ankles to determine the
percentage electronically
Hydrostatic Weighing
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A method of measuring body fat by
submerging an individual in water
Current Gold Standard for BF%
Testing Procedure
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Sit on a scale in a tank of water
Exhales as completely as possible
Then submerged for approximately 10 seconds
while his or her weight is recorded.
Hydrostatic Weighing
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Proportions of lean body mass and fat
mass are determined from calculations that
involve
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Weight underwater
Weight out of water
Known densities of lean and fatty tissues
Hydrostatic Weighing
Waist-to-Hip Ratio
Provides an indication where you store fat
Obese people
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Abdominal area rather than hips and thighs
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Hips and thighs
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Lower risk for the above diseases
Men WTH ratio of > 1
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Higher risk for coronary heart disease, high bp, congestive
heart failure, strokes and diabetes
Recommends weight lost
Women WTH ratio of > .85
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Recommends weight lost
Bod Pod
Bid Pod