Body fat is needed to make hormones; helps cell membranes, red blood cells and nerves work; and stores fat-soluble nutrients and reserve calories. Percentage body fat is a better way to measure fitness level than body weight alone.[1] Body fat is related to the quantity of calories ingested, not the quality of calories. Body fat is broken down through a series of complex metabolic processes. Your body uses the energy produced by these processes.[3]
Body fat is lost by creating a caloric deficit through exercise and nutrition. Body fat is one of the most troubling aspects of one’s physique, whether man or woman. But it is not always the big bad enemy that it is touted as. Body fat is tissue that has little electric conductivity. The Omron Body Fat Analyzer uses this difference in electrical conductivity to measure body fat in regards to total body weight.
Body fat is not the only measure of determining the degree of obesity, of course -- but it is the most accurate one. For a quick assessment of your own body weight status, other standards include BMI (body mass index), where you divide your body weight in kilograms (in U.S.: divide weight in pounds by 2.2046) by your height in meters squared (in U.S.: take height in inches and divide by 39.37 - then multiple the result by itself).[7]
Obesity is also a risk factor in for osteoarthritis which is the condition responsible for more than 70% of hip and knee replacements. In overweight individuals weight loss of an average of 11 lbs (5 kg) reduced the risk of developing osteoarthritis by more than 50%.[8] Obesity refers specifically to having too much body fat. It usually also means being very overweight.[9] Obesity tends to run in families, suggesting a genetic cause. However, families also share diet and lifestyle habits that may contribute to obesity.[10]
Obese patients, however they got there, are usually congestive heart failure, Diabetes, and respiratory problem patients. [11] Obesity has a great number of negative health, social and economic consequences. Mortality and morbidity rates are higher among overweight and obese individuals than lean people.[12]
Weight alone is not a reliable indicator of good health. [13] Weight loss alone is not the only or even the best marker of improvement in the risks posed by fat. Supplemented patients in this study also demonstrated a significant reduction in visceral fat.[14]
BMI correlations with estimates of fat mass and lean tissue mass in individuals from developing countries, e.g. [15] BMI is calculated by taking a woman's weight in kilograms divided by her height in meters squared, kg/m2. There are sites on the WWW where you can have this calculation done for you automatically.[16] BMI has an advantage over "percent above ideal weight" (based on Metropolitan life Insurance Tables). Ideal body weight tables such as the Metropolitan Life Insurance tables were developed primarily from white, higher socioeconomic status populations and have not been documented to accurately reflect body fat content in the public at large.
BMI is derived from a ratio equation of height squared divided by weight. Here again, only an individual's height and weight are used and no indication of actual lean or fat mass can be determined.[18] BMI, although not a perfect method for judging someone's weight, is often a good way to check on how a kid is growing. [19]
Women tend to store it around there hips, buttocks, thighs and back of their arms. A complete discussion of hormones and fat storage would be beyond the scope of this article, but let it suffice to say that certain hormonal process do determine body fat distribution.[20] Women who are too lean are infertile and cannot conceive children; young girls who are too thin have a delayed onset of their first period. Female Fertility and the Body-Fat Connection illuminates how and why a "critical fitness" level underlies a woman's reproductive health.[21] Women who start out their pregnancy at a low weight have an increased risk of having a low-birthweight baby. Your healthcare provider will check your weight throughout your pregnancy to make sure that you're gaining enough.[22]
Skinfold measurements are the most widely used field method of body composition assessment. This method assumes that the thickness of the subcutaneous adipose tissue is proportional to the total amount of fat throughout the body.[25] Skinfold thickness measurements were taken on the right side of the body with a calibrated Lange caliper by an investigator who had previously demonstrated a test-retest reliability of r > 0.90. Measurements were taken according to the recommendations of Jackson and Pollock [21 ] at the sites for triceps, suprailium, subscapular, and thigh.[26]
Body fat levels have risen steadily amongst the North American population over the past 10 years in addition to other factors stress is a leading cause for this negative trend. Body fat, blurs the jawline and cheekbones. Fat also makes your face blend in with your pudgy neck.[28] Body composition is the key to physical fitness. Stated another way, how much lean muscle mass does your body have in reality.
Body fat distribution tends to be around both the upper body and lower body. Their body typically enlarges the arms, breasts, hips and rear before other parts, including waist and upper abdomen.[30] Body composition is the ratio of body fat to lean body mass (bones and muscles). You cannot determine your body composition simply by weighing yourself on a standard scale.[31] Body fat percentage is top dog, numero uno, single most important, above all others, need-to-know, must-have measurement. Not knowing your exact body fat % is like driving a car without knowing what speed you are going or how much gas you have left.[32]
Bodybuilding is a very visual sport. The judges don?t come up on stage and measure your arms in a bodybuilding contest ?[33] Body weight alone is not a clear indicator of good health because it does not distinguish how many pounds are from fat and how many are from lean body mass. The popularity of body composition (as a measure of progress) is growing as people realize its value in determining health risks.[34] Body composition measures used in this paper represent significant improvements over the previously used measures because they allow for the effects of fat and fat free components of body composition to be separately identified. Our work also contributes to the growing literature on the role of non-cognitive characteristics on wage determination.[35]
Body composition was assessed by skinfold measurements. Estimated body fat percentage at the end of the season was significantly lower than levels at the start of the first conditioning period, mid-season, second conditioning period and at the start of the season. Body composition is simply the ratio of lean body mass to fat body mass. Too much fat can lead to health problems like heart disease, diabetes, high cholesterol and other serious conditions.[37] Bodybuilding and fitness is my life - it's all I've ever done. [38]
Body fat, which is packed with energy, is burned off to provide the energy necessary to maintain these minimal levels of body functions. This can be very efficient -- Arctic ground squirrels live entirely off of stored body fat for as long as nine months.[39]
Finally, you need some fats and these should come on the form of fish oils, flaxseed oil or extra virgin canned olive oil. [43] Finally, make your training fun! Dieting shouldn't be a restraint. Results are seen almost immediately. [45] RESULTS: Polynomial regression showed that the relationship between %fat and BMI was quadratic for both men and women. A natural log transformation of BMI adjusted for the non-linearity.[46] Results for lean subjects calculated using data provided by GOSCHKE et al., 1975; LEHMANN et al., 1893; CATHCART, 1907; BONNINGER and MOHR, 1906; WATANABE and SASSA, 1914; and Driscoll and Filer as reported by FORBES in 1979. Results for obese subjects calculated using data (sometimes graphical data) provided by GOSCHKE et al., 1975; BALLENTYNE et al., 1973; BALL et al., 1967; and SWENDSEID et al., 1965.[47]
Walking a mile burns as many calories as running a mile— it just take longer to walk. Most people can walk farther than they can run, so they wind up burning more calories by walking![49] Walker got a great complimentary introduction to the Wellness Center and to weight training, and Cope got a T-shirt out of the deal. [50]
Think about it .if we were so metabolically inefficient as to burn 300 calories at the rate the exercise equipment says you do, would we ever have survived as a species. The calories burned hunting and gathering would have caused us to die of starvation before we could ever have found anything to eat.[52] Think of it this way; you can carry a five pound bag of groceries up and down the street probably for hours on end. However, replace that five pound grocery bag with a sixty pound sand bag.[53]
Measurements of height, weight, circumferences, and skinfolds are used to estimate body composition. [61] Measurement time takes roughly 5 to 8 minutes per individual. [62]
Class 4 men performed hard physical work much of the time and examples of this category are farmers, lumberjacks, fishermen, blacksmiths etc. For each cohort the percentage of men in each class was determined and the average calculated.[65] Claude Bouchard of Laval University in Quebec and his colleagues, looked at 12 pairs of lean young men, identical twins, to determine to what extent a tendency to gain weight is inherited. The men stayed in a closed section of a dormitory at the university for 120 days.[66] Classroom use of this data set: This data set can be used to illustrate multiple regression techniques. Accurate measurement of body fat is inconvenient/costly and it is desirable to have easy methods of estimating body fat that are not inconvenient/costly.
