Monthly Archives: August 2007
Assessing Body Composition
Body composition can be divided into two compartments: fat mass and fat-free mass. Body composition is the ratio of fat to fat-free mass. Fat-free weight includes all tissues-muscle, bone, blood, organs, fluids-exclusive of fat. Fat, which composes the other compartment, … Continue reading
Regional Fat Distribution
The deposition of fat varies among individuals. The amount of fat and the storage sites are influenced by heredity and gender. After puberty, women generally deposit fat in the buttocks, hips, breasts, and thighs. These preferential sites are largely dictated … Continue reading
Selected Methods for Measuring Body Composition
Hydrostatic Weighing Hydrostatic weighing, one of the most accurate of the measurement techniques, involves weighing subjects while they are completely submerged in water. Subjects may contribute to optimcal accuracy if they can exhale the maximum amount of air possible from … Continue reading
Measurement of Body Fat
The only direct means to measure the fat content of the human body is by chemical analysis of cadavers. The information obtained from cadaver studies has been used to develop indirect methods for estimating fat content. Because these estimates are … Continue reading