The document discusses body composition analysis, which describes the relative proportions of fat, bone, and muscle mass in the human body. It defines key terms like essential fat, storage fat, and fat-free mass. The document outlines various methods to measure body composition, including hydrostatic weighing, air displacement, skinfold tests, bioelectrical impedance analysis, and DEXA scans. Maintaining a healthy body composition is important for reducing disease risks and athletic performance.

1. Body
Composition
Analysis

2. What is body composition?
 Body composition describes the relative
proportions of fat, bone and muscles mass
in the human body.
 Body composition = the body’s relative
amounts of fat mass and fat-free mass
(bone, water, muscle, connective and organ
tissues, teeth)

3.  Total body fat = Essential Fat + Storage fat
 Essential fat – in bone marrow, nervous tissue,
organs(Young men – 3-5 % of body mass,
Young female – 08 - 12% of body mass)
 Storage fat – accumulates in adipose
tissue(Young Men- 3% of body mass, Young
female – 12% of body mass)
 Fat free mass(FFM) = body mass – fat mass

4.  Essential fat = crucial for normal body functioning
 3–5% of total body weight in males
 8–12% of total body weight in females
 Nonessential fat = adipose tissue

5. Essential fat
 All fat is not bad!!
 We need fat for padding of organs, insulation,
energy source
 There is a minimum amount that we need to
function daily = essential fat
 Consists of fat stored in major organs, muscles,
and central nervous system
 Required for normal physiological
functioning: reducing essential fat below some
minimal amount can impair overall health.
Extremes in dieting (and exercise) can reduce
essential fat stores)

6.  Essential fat
constitutes about 3%
of the total weight in
men and 12% in
women

7. Fat-Free Body Mass (FFM)
Defined as body mass devoid of
all extractable fat
Fat mass = Body mass * % body fat
Body mass = 75.1 kg Body fat = 23.6%
FFM = Body mass - fat mass
What is the FFM for this person?
Answer: 57.4 kg

8. Why we need body
composition analysis?
 Body Composition and analysis provides information (like %
of body fat, fat distribution, body segment girth etc.)which
are pertinent to athletic performance and for reducing risk
factors associated with musculoskeletal injury and disease.
 how much fat to lose versus how much muscle to gain?
 Health Implications
 there is an ideal % fat for health reasons (prevent onset of
diabetes, CHD, BP, etc…)

9. Consequences of too much increased body fat
 Increased risk of chronic disease and premature death;
associated health problems include
 Unhealthy blood fat levels
 Impaired heart function
 Heart disease and hypertension
 Cancer
 Impaired immune function
 Gallbladder disease
 Kidney disease
 Skin problems
 Sleeping problems

10.  Obese people are more than three
times as likely as nonobese people to
develop diabetes
 Excess body fat is a key risk factor for
the most common type of diabetes
 Excess body fat decreases the ability to
perform physical activities

11. Problems Associated with Very Low
Levels of Body Fat
 Too little body fat is associated with
reproductive, circulatory, and immune system
disorders
 Less than 10–12% for women
 Less than 5% for men

12. Different Levels of BC Measurement

13. Body Composition Model
 Categorized as direct, indirect or doubly indirect
methods
 Direct method(chemical analysis of whole body
or cadaver) is not suitable in the living body.
 Indirect method(hydrostatic weighing etc.)
 - Component and property based model
 Doubly indirect method(skinfolds etc.)

14. Assessing Body Composition
 Height, Weight, BMI
 Waist and hip circumference
 Hydrodensitometry (hydrostatic weighing)
 Air displacement method
 Skinfold assessment
 Bioelectrical Impedence
 CT, PET
 MRI and spectroscopy
 Dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA)
 Three dimensional scanning

15. Factors to consider while
choosing the technique.
 Need of the individual
 Purpose of evaluation
 Cost of measurement
 Equipment needed
 Availability of the assessment tools
 Training
 Advantages vs. disadvantages
 Accuracy, reliability and validity

16. Height

 Stadiometer
 Subject removes shoes
 Stands straight up and heels together
 Takes a deep breath and hold it
 Stands with head level and looks straight
 Consider standard time and monitoring pre activity
level
• Measured in cms and inches

17. Body Mass
 Best measured on a calibrated scale
 Removes excess layer of clothing and shoes
 Empty pockets, remove jewelery and mobiles
 Consider a standard time
 Body weight(pounds) and
mass(kilograms) are different
terminologies

18. Body Mass Index

 A rough assessment based on the concept that a
person’s weight should be proportional to height
 Body weight in kilograms is divided by the square
of height in meters
 Elevated BMI is linked to increased risk of disease,
especially if associated with large waist
circumference
 Poor predictor of body fat
 Not useful for resistance-trained population

20. Waist to Hip Ratio
 Indication of the pattern of body fat distribution.
 The waist circumference should be measured at the
midpoint between the lower margin of the last
palpable ribs and the top of the iliac crest, using a
stretch‐resistant tape
 Should stand with feet close together, arms at the
side,should be relaxed, and the measurements
should be taken at the end of a normal respiration

21.  The WHO states that
abdominal obesity is
defined as a waist-hip
ratio above 0.90 for
males and above 0.85 for
females

22. Skinfold Thickness
 Based on the principle that approximately half of the
body’s fatty tissue is directly beneath skin
 Reliable measurements of this tissue give a good
indication of percent body fat
 Skinfold test is done with pressure calipers
 Several sites are measured and percent fat is estimated
from the sum of the three sites using Tables
 All measurements should be taken on the right side of
the body

24. Men Women

25. Hydrostatic Weighing
 Underwater weighing
 Most common technique used
for decades
 A person’s “regular” weight is
compared with underwater
weight
 Fat is more buoyant than lean
tissue
 Almost all other indirect
techniques have been validated
against hydrostatic weighing

26. Dbody = Mbody / Vbody
• Involves measuring the density of the athlete’s
body
• Volume of body can be determined by hydrostatic
weighing.
• Archimedes principle - an object (or human)
immersed in fluid, loses an amount of weight
equivalent to the weight of the fluid that is
displaced

27. Density body = Mass/Volume corrected
Relative fat = 495/ Density body- 450
Fat mass = (mass × relative fat)/100
Fat free mass = mass – fat mass
Volume = Mass – underwater mass
Volume corrected for water density :
Intestinal gas and RV

29. Variables needs to known to Use
Hydrodensitometry
 Residual volume
 Density of water
 Amount of gas trapped in the
gastrointestinal system
 Dry body weight
 Body weight fully submerged in water

30. Hydrostatic Weighing
Drawbacks
 Time consuming
 Not feasible to test large number of
people
 Requires measurement of residual lung
volume (if unknown, can be estimated)
 Difficult to perform on the aquaphobic

31. Air Displacement Method
 Individual sits inside small chamber
 Computerized pressure sensors determine the
amount of air displaced by the person
 Body volume is calculated by subtracting the air
volume with the person inside the chamber from the
volume of the empty chamber (air in the lungs is
taken into consideration)
 Body density and percent body fat are then
calculated
 BOD –POD device used.

32. it’s important to wear minimal,
form-fitting clothing such as a
lycra or swimsuit for accurate
result.

33. Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA)
 BIA is a rapid, non invasive and relatively inexpensive
method for evaluating body composition
 Sensors are applied to the skin and a weak electrical
current is run through the body to estimate body fat,
lean body mass, and body water
 Based on the principle that fatty tissue is a less-
efficient conductor of an electrical current
 The easier the conductance, the leaner the individual
 Body weight scales with special sensors on the surface
may also be used to perform this procedure