Most people arent that desperate to obtain some numbers so scientists have developed methods to estimate body composition. Here is a review of the five most commonly available methods of body composition testing listed in order of most accurate to least accurate.
Body Composition Wikipedia
Most valid measurement of body composition. The term body composition refers to the relative percentages of fat muscle and water. The most accurate way to measure body composition is by cadaver dissection. The only fully accurate measurement of body composition is cadaver whole body dissection analysis previously undertaken as part of the brussels cadaver analysis study. Each method has its advantages and disadvantages. According to the acsm bioelectric impedance analysis bia works by passing a low intensity electric current through the body and measuring its resistance. The more fat you carry around your waist being.
Body fat scales are devices that a person can use to measure their weight and body composition at home. Among the most commonly used criteria are relative weights adjusted for height and gender corresponding to specific percentiles for a specific population ideal body weight or body mass index bmi. The faster the current travels from one lead to another the more muscle and less fat the person has. Typically weight in kg per height in m 2. One common external standard for overfatness is based on a bmi above 26 while a frequently employed standard of ideal body weight is based on the metropolitan life insurance mortality results 1959 1983. Validity refers to how well a method gives us a true value.
When discussing these methods the terms validity and reliability come up frequently. Some are more accurate than others. Methods for measuring body composition. The advantages of dxa are its use across the entire age range and at relatively low cost. Dxa is one of the most widely used techniques for body composition research. Body composition analysis using ct and mri.
A number of different factors contribute to your weight including hereditary components hormonal abnormalities exercise diet and lifestyle. Body composition can be assessed in a number of different ways with methods ranging in technicality cost and accuracy. Weight is an overall measure of your body mass. This measurement includes all of the elements of your body bones blood organs muscles and fat. A whole body scan output provides values for fat bone and bone free lean for each limb and the trunk. There are many different ways to measure body composition.
Intra individual intermodal comparison of muscle mass and myosteatosis scientific reports computed tomography ct and magnetic resonance imaging mri. To get an idea of your body fat distribution measure the ratio between the circumference of your waist and the circumference of your hips.