The Best Indicator of Fitness is Body Composition

Traditionally Body Mass Index has been used to decide whether a person is skinny, fit or obese. Body Mass Index is an attempt to add a somewhat analytical aspect to the weight measurement. It is the ratio of your weight to the square of your height. If the ratio is above a certain value, you are deemed obese. Where this approach as a whole lacks is that it ignores the type of tissue creating the body weight. Having a lot of muscle on your body does not make you fat or obese in real life but when it comes to measuring your body weight and calculating your body mass index, you would find out that you are overweight. Muscle is a dense type of tissue. It makes a person quite heavy but unlike fat, it does not make you look bloated and fluffy.

A useful approach to physical fitness should take into account the ratio of fat and muscle tissues that add to the total weight of the person. In other words, physical fitness would be more effectively measured by looking at the body composition rather than weight. Once we have established body compostion as the best indicator of fitness, it is now time to see how to measure it.

There are various ways to find out a person’s body composition. Traditional methods include estimations by using calipers or tape measures. For professional athletes and those who are ready to pay a fortune, very reliable measurements using high-tech equipment are made available by gyms and madical facilities. In recent years, a new means of body composition measurement that is fairly accurate, affordable and widely accessible has been developed. It is the body fat scale. These scales tell you both your weight and the percentage of the fat in your body. Body composition scales are digital devices with a special algorithm that puts a person’s weight, height, gender and electric resistance into account to estimate the ratio of fat, water and muscle in the body. There is no need for worry. The current used to measure the electric resistance is too small for you to feel. Yet, it is a complicated system and not every manufacturer is so successful in making accurate body composition scales. Body composition scale reviews are must-read if you want to find the right one.

I am freelance writer interested in home design and product related reviews.