|
Magazine
FITNESS MATTERS
Body composition: What are you made of?
DR. SHEELA NAMBIAR
|
The ratio of fat to muscle in the body is a more important indicator of fitness than just size or weight alone.
|
PHOTOS: DR. SHEELA NAMBUIAR
Watch that waistline: Slim, well-muscled individual with ideal fat percentage
Bodies are not just about size,
But also about shape,
Quality of content and the
Ability to improve performance.
Layak
The elegant aphorism above says it all.
We often view our fitness goals in terms of “looking slimmer” or “losing weight”. It is, however, essential to understand that the optical representation of “size” alone can be deceptive in terms of the “content” of the body. One could very well be “thin/slim” but have meagre muscle mass and a high fat percentage for instance. The result? From a visual perspective alone, a thin/slim body without any muscle definition, very often flabby, especially as one grows older, as fat doesn’t stand up to gravity very well!
The pleasing “shape” of the human body is evident only when muscle structure is well defined with a thin layer of fat encasing it. When this subcutaneous fatty layer increases, the muscle definition perceptibly disappears. Fatty tissue increases as a result of the fat cells enlarging randomly in size rather than number, to form ungainly bulges and shapes.
The ideal composition
“Quality of content” refers to the ratio of fat to muscle in the body. This ratio has to be at an optimum for a well sculpted appearance. In other words, an ideal body composition. The body consists of various different components of tissue. Bone, muscle, fat, internal organs, nerves, blood vessels etc. From the physical fitness perspective, the percentage of body fat and lean body mass (the composite collection of the non-fat tissue) is of prime importance. The purpose of muscle tissue is locomotion. Fat, on the other hand, has some bodily functions such as storage of energy, insulation and protection of important organs. But there is a ceiling to the fat percentage that is required to perform these very functions. In abundance, fat is completely redundant.
A complete program
It also refers to the actual functionality of individual muscles. For instance, one may be proportionately muscular with an ideal fat percentage, but have extremely tight, inflexible muscles and an imbalance in muscle distribution and strength, leading to poor posture and alignment. This is where a fitness program that is complete and total, addressing all the aspects of fitness including cardiovascular endurance, muscle balance, strength, flexibility, coordination and agility of the entire body is vital.
An individual’s ability to “improve performance” is a direct result of having a good “quality” body. Without good quality, efficient muscles to execute daily tasks, we would be masses of adipose tissue struggling to shift our own body weight. This “performance” affects the entire spectrum of daily life, from the boardroom to the bedroom, from being a multitasking super mom to the executive socialite.
The role of fitness, therefore, is to enable one to not only reach optimum “body composition”, but also improve functionality by addressing the various other aspects of fitness.
The weight on the scale can be very misleading. The scale does not evaluate the various components of the body independently, but gives one an appraisal of the total weight inclusive of the fat, muscle, bone etc. The plummeting scale can be used as a motivator but has its own drawbacks when used as sole indicator of “weight” loss. The weight you lose as indicated by your bathroom scale alone could very well be muscle mass, and that is not an ideal objective.
An over-weight individual with excess fat over abdominal wall.
Typical height/weight charts can also be misleading in some instances where an athlete for instance may be “over weight” going by the scale alone, but could have a body fat percentage well within or even below the normal. Or, a young woman may weigh well within the norm of the height weight charts, but could possibly have an accumulation of excess fat percentage, thereby leaving her falsely reassured, but unfit.
The National Institute of Health recommends that ideal fat percentage for men should range between 13-17 per cent; for women between 19-25 per cent.
How much is too much? Over 25 per cent for men and over 32 per cent for women is considered obese and invariably leads to health issues. Minimum safe fat percentage for men is 5 per cent; for females, 12 per cent. A fat percentage below these levels sets the scene for other complications like the “Female Athlete Triad” for instance, which includes absent periods, eating disorders and lowered bone density leading to fractures.
There is some evidence that there may be a genetic basis to fat accumulation. Excess fat, however, is mostly lifestyle related: Too much calorie consumption with too little expenditure. Where one stores the fat is definitely genetically determined. Indians, for instance, have a tendency to store fat in and around their abdomen. This does not imply that you throw up your hands and leave your widening waistline to “destiny”. Increasing muscle mass, by weight training, and reducing fat percentage by higher intensity cardiovascular activity is well within one’s reach and needs to be adhered to in order to maintain optimum body composition.
The author is an MD in OBGYN and a fitness and lifestyle consultant (NAFC). Email: drsheela@tflinc.net
Measuring your fat percentage
There are several ways of measuring fat percentage. The gold standard in the laboratory setting is Hydrostatic weighing. Clinically we use Bioelectrical impedance (utilised in the fat percentage machines), girth measures or skin fold thickness to assess fat percentage. This evaluation is more important and indicative of health and fitness than mere weight in pounds alone.
While setting fitness goals, it is wise to address fat percentage as well as body weight. A more muscular, stronger body, is more capable of higher intensity work (be it exercise or regular day-to-day activity), muscle being active tissue. Excess fat, on the other hand, is dead weight and does nothing in helping an individual be active and mobile. Another outcome of having more muscle mass is a higher basal metabolic rate which in turn aids in more calorie burn.
Finally, it comes back to the basics: Cardio + Weight training + Flexibility in appropriate proportions is crucial to improve overall fitness and health and attain the best possible body composition within one’s reach.
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Magazine
|
