A Laboratory Report on Body Composition

Obesity is a condition where excess body fat negatively affects health or wellbeing. As methods that determine body fat directly are difficult, the diagnosis of obesity is often based on BMI. Due to the rising prevalence of obesity and its many adverse health effects, it is being recognized as a serious public health concern (Lobstein and Leach, 2007).

BMI cannot differentiate between body fat and muscle mass. This often results in misleading information with regard to the amount of fat in the individual, as muscle is denser than fat. (British Heart Foundation 2009). Meaning there is a potential risk of overestimating BMI in individuals with a high muscle mass, such as athletes.

Body composition provides an overall assessment of health and it is important in assessing an individual’s risk of developing diseases such as diabetes, high blood, obesity and some forms of cancer. Body composition indicates the proportion of essential fats and non-essential fats in the body (ACSM, 2012). An optimal health range has been established based on the difference in age, sex, height and weight. Individuals above the established range are at increased risk of developing high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity (ACSM, 2012). While, individuals below the established range are more likely to interrupt the delivery of key vitamins and nutrients to the cells of the body as well as adversely affect the proper functioning of their reproductive

The higher the number, the more the body fat a person has. BMI, however, does not work the same way for everyone. Bodybuilders may have a very high BMI, despite not being obese, leading to incorrect readings and on the other hand, older people might have low BMI, but that is because they have lost muscle mass and not because they are obese. Hence, BMI is different for every person and is not a good way to generalize how a person’s physique should be judged. BMI should be evaluated by a health care provider who will be using various sources, along with BMI, in order to figure out how unhealthy or fit a person really

Body fat distribution can be estimated by skin fold measures, waist-to-hip circumference ratios, or techniques such as ultrasound, computed tomography, or magnetic resonance imaging.” (www.cdc.gov) The difference is that obesity is a definite problem, whereas being overweight can be directly related to obese but may just be that your lean muscle weight is higher than the average person in you height category.

23. Body mass index (BMI) is the ratio of fat to lean muscle mass in the body.

Scientifically, obesity is construed as surplus adipose tissue. Adipose tissue emits multiple commodities, such as lipids and

Obesity is becoming a major problem to many Americans as well as many people around the world. Being the second cause of preventable death in the United States, obesity increases the risk of numerous adverse health problems including breast cancer, heart disease, type II diabetes, osteoarthritis, colon cancer, stroke, and more. Obesity is defined as an excess proportion of total body fat, with a person being considered obese if his or her weight is twenty percent or more above normal body weight. A common way to measure obesity is by calculating the body mass index. An individual is considered overweight if his or her BMI is between twenty five and thirty,

For instance, the BMI of a person who is 5’3" and weighs 125 lbs is calculated as follows:

Body Mass Index is a simple scale that determines a ratio of weight in relation to height. According to Stephanie Wilson, “a Belgian

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines body mass index (BMI) as a simple index of weight-for-height that is commonly used to classify overweight and obesity. To determine BMI, a person’s weight, in kilograms, is divided by the square of the person height in meters

The Army Body Composition Program (ABCP) relies on a basic form of body circumference measurements to determine a soldier’s body fat composition. Many people believe this standard of measuring is an unfair and inaccurate representation of their true body composition. There are several options that could provide a more accurate measurement such as hydrostatic testing, skin fold method, Bioelectric Impedance Analysis (BIA) only to name a few. There are many factors that influence the decisions of leaders such as availability, cost, reliability and accuracy of the method in which method they decide to use.

Obesity rates are soaring throughout North America (What Is Obesity?, 2013). With obesity reaching almost epidemic proportions in the United States, and the threat of a global epidemic, we must watch this alarming increase carefully ( Health Risks of Obesity, 2013). Obesity is defined as: "…an excess of adipose tissue…" (A Report of the Surgeon General, 2014). The two most common measures of obesity are Body Mass Index (BMI is a ratio of weight to height) and relative weight index, such as percent desirable weight (Body Mass Index , 2013). BMI is the most frequently used measure of obesity as it has a strong correlation with more direct measures of adiposity, such as underwater weighing (A Report of the Surgeon General, 2013). Some

Overweight is often misinterpreted as obesity, but it has been proven that individuals such as bodybuilders and professional athletes can be overweight yet they do not suffer from obesity. Obesity refers to just excessive body fat whereas overweight refers to excessive body weight including water, bone, fat, and muscle. A certain amount of fat is needed to store energy, heat insulation, shock absorption, and other functions, but when men reach more than twenty-five percent body fat, and women reach more than thirty percent they are considered obese. A person’s body mass index (BMI) is measured by dividing body weight in kilograms by the square of body height in meters (Wilmore, et al., 2008).

Table 11.1 mentions DEXA which is dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry and accuracy is + or – 1.8% but more research is needed to verify which could mean that DEXA would be the new gold standard for assessment of body composition. A DEXA is a practical tool that more facilities are using but is not portable. Pros of this time of machine to estimate body composition is that it is easy to use, takes on 5-10 minutes to use, simple procedure and very limited radiation exposure. Downsides to a DEXA scan are that the initial cost of the machine is expensive, not recommended for those who are pregnant, individuals who on the larger side(height or weight) due to fitting in the DEXA machine would be contraindicated and a licensed staff person is need