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7: Body Composition

  • Page ID
    145139
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    By Scott Flynn

    Learning Objectives

    • What is body composition?
    • How does body composition affect a person’s health?
    • What are the health risks and costs associated with overweight and obesity?
    • What is the significance of body fat distribution?
    • What is Body Mass Index (BMI) and why is it important?

    • 7.1: Body Weight versus Body Composition
      This page discusses gender differences in exercise motivations, noting that females often exercise for weight control while males aim for muscle tone. It addresses societal pressures regarding body ideals and their potential link to eating disorders.
    • 7.2: Diseases Associated with Excessive Body Fat
      This page outlines the health risks associated with excessive body fat, linking it to diseases such as Type II Diabetes, hypertension, various cancers, cardiovascular issues, and more. It highlights other complications like cerebrovascular issues, lung disorders, musculoskeletal problems, and psychological issues. The summary encourages further exploration of the connection between obesity and these diseases through a provided resource.
    • 7.3: How Much Fat is Needed?
      This page discusses the importance of fat in nutrition, its role in energy and cellular functions, and the distinction between essential and nonessential fat. It highlights health risks associated with overweight and obesity, including diseases and emotional challenges, while emphasizing that these conditions do not determine social status. Additionally, it underscores the need for regular exercise to maintain a healthy weight and avoid the adverse effects of inactivity.
    • 7.4: Body Fat Distribution
      This page highlights the importance of body composition measurements in assessing health risks and formulating nutrition and exercise plans. It distinguishes between non-essential fats: subcutaneous and visceral, with the latter being linked to increased risks of type II diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.
    • 7.5: Body Mass Index
      This page discusses Body Mass Index (BMI) as a tool for assessing health risks linked to body weight and height. It highlights BMI's usefulness in indicating overweight status and tracking weight changes, but also addresses its limitations, such as not distinguishing between fat and fat-free mass and not accounting for age and gender differences. Despite criticisms, BMI is valuable for general health predictions and lifestyle recommendations.
    • 7.6: How to Measure Body Composition
      This page reviews methods for estimating body composition, highlighting their importance in health risk assessment. It covers hydrostatic weighing, DEXA, air displacement, bio-electrical impedance analysis (BIA), and skinfold analysis. Hydrostatic weighing and DEXA offer high accuracy but are expensive and equipment-intensive. BIA is budget-friendly but affected by hydration, while skinfold analysis is easy and cost-effective but relies on user expertise and demographic variability.
    • 7.7: Weighing in on the U.S.
      This page highlights the alarming rise in overweight and obesity rates in the U.S., with 70.7% of adults and substantial percentages of children and adolescents affected. Despite a stabilization in trends over the last decade, related health issues are on the rise. Concerns are raised about the accuracy of BMI as a measure of body fat, suggesting it may underestimate actual obesity prevalence.
    • 7.8: What Can Be Done?
      This page highlights the significance of body composition and fat distribution in health assessments, advocating for multiple metrics like BMI, waist circumference, and body fat percentage to evaluate health risks. It suggests a balanced weight management plan that includes calorie control and exercise.


    This page titled 7: Body Composition was last modified on Tue, 27 Jan 2026 19:33:48 GMT and is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Scott Flynn, Jonathan Howard, Lisa Jellum, and Althea Moser (GALILEO Open Learning Materials) via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.