dr.bharatchauhan@gmail.com
Body composition analysis is the assessment of the proportion of fat to fat-free mass in your body. Even though it’s important for the health of all individuals to have an understanding of their body mass index, it is especially important for athletes to monitor their body composition. Athletes look to stay in the healthy zone of a low ration of body fat to muscle, bones and organs.
We typically recommend conducting a body composition analysis at the start of any weight loss, weight gain, or targeted training program, as well as period checks to monitor progress.
A certain amount of body fat is important to all individ uals. We typically are concerned with three areas of fat storage:
A certain amount of essential fat in these areas protects organs, is used as fuel for energy, and regulates body hormones. However, monitoring your levels of excess fat is important for a full picture of your total health and fitness.
Lean tissue, aka fat-free mass, is what we refer to as the portions of your body mass that excludes fat – that is bone, water, muscle, organs and tissue. Lean tissue actively burns calories for energy, while fat is not metabolically active.
By measuring your body composition, we can determine your body fat percent: the ratio of lean tissue to fat in your body. We then compare your personal body fat percent to the generally-accepted normal ranges, taking into consideration differences between men and women, ages, personal health history, and overall athletic performance goals.