If you have been in the gym or even if you are just following any fitness or health blogs on social media, then you have probably heard the term “body composition” multiple times already. However, hearing or reading the term in a vague sentence isn’t the same as understanding what it means and how it is relevant to your own fitness goals. To clear up the confusion, read on.
What is Body Composition and How is an Analysis Helpful to You?
In the world of health and fitness, body composition refers to the water levels, muscle mass, mineral percentage and fat percentage in a human body. An analysis of the same determines the percentage in which each of the primary constituents is present within the body. While body composition analysis is normally a paid medical examination, this new Cudahy, CA gym offers free body composition analysis so you can understand the makeup of your body in terms of fat vs. muscle. When fitness experts and dieticians have the data from the analysis in their hands, they can direct their clients in the right direction by devising a workout + diet strategy, which would try to correct the imbalances found in the report.
The Various Models of the Analysis
Depending on the objective of the test, the analysis will follow either the 2C or the 4C model. The 2C model is the simpler form of body composition analysis that divides the constituents into two broad classes, namely fat-free mass (FFM) and fat mass. The 4C model is a much more complex analysis which divides the FFM constituents into three relatively specific categories. Aside from fat percentage, the 4C body composition test also shows protein, minerals, and water percentages in the body.
A Brief Analysis of the Primary Constituents
Water – In an adult human body, the water content should be anything between 50% – 60%, but the results will vary depending on multiple factors. A point to be noted is that the more overweight a person is, the less water his/her body contains.
Fat – Everybody wants to lose fat and for good reason, but know that going below the 5% mark for men and 10% mark for women can be extremely dangerous and can lead to a whole bunch of health issues.
Protein – Protein can be divided into visceral proteins, muscle proteins and plasma proteins, which comes to roughly 17% of the total in the average human being. Mostly, though, these tests take into account the muscle protein, aka the muscle mass (skeletal, smooth, and cardiac).
Minerals – Found mainly in the bloodstream and, of course, inside the tissues, the mineral content analysis is more important when you are trying to advise a diet or detect an underlying illness.
The body composition analysis delivers significantly better, more personal and accurate results than the BMI index, which is flawed for a number of reasons. Depending on who is doing it and how accurate you want your results to be, you can get the results from a Bioelectric Impedance Analysis (BIA), Dual Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry (DEXA), Hydrostatic Weighing, or the good old Skinfold Calipers Method.
