Do you know the difference between body fat and body weight, and body composition?

Body Composition is the term we use in the health industry to describe the different components that make up a person's body weight.

The human body is composed of a variety of different tissue types. The so-called 'lean and healthy' tissues, such as muscle, bone, and organs are metabolically active, while adipose better know as fat tissue is not.

Good old fashion standard scales can only tell you your total body weight, but can't differentiate your lean-to-fat ratio. Your lean-to fat ratio is really important when assessing how much weight loss in required to be considered healthy.

So how do you properly assess your current body weight? By using a body composition scale. That is a modern scale in which an electrical signal is sent through the body to determine the percentage of the different kinds of tissues (each has a different conductance). And yes, it is painless.

Let me share a case study with you to illustrate a point.

During her last physical, one of my female clients weighing in at 152lbs and 5'7" tall was told by her physician that the she needed to lose 10-20lbs in order to be healthy.

What her doctor's old standard scale failed to tell her was that her body fat percentage was a healthy 22% (low end of the healthy scale for an adult female), putting her in the low end of the healthy category for her age, height and fitness background. Can you imagine being told you are overweight when you are a size 7/8 and having been an avid exerciser for the last 12 years?

For an idea of what is considered a healthy body fat percentage take a look at the following chart:

Healthy Body Composition Chart
Healthy body fat percentage for women 20-25%
Healthy body fat percentage for men 15-18%
Healthy body fat percentage for female athlete 12-20%
Healthy body fat percentage for male athlete 5-12%
(American Dietetic Association)