Dual X-ray Absorptiometry DXA is a quick and pain free scan that can tell you a lot about your body. Example analysis from a DXA scan PDF. Although body fat endures a negative reputation, fats and lipids play critical roles in the overall functioning of the body, such as in digestion and energy metabolism.

Fat is the body's energy provider and energy reserve, which helps the body maintain a constant temperature. Fats and lipids are also involved in the production and regulation of some hormones such as, steroid hormones.

These are essential in regulating sexuality, reproduction, and development of the human sex organs, as well as in regulating the water balance in the body.

Fats and lipids also have important structural roles in maintaining nerve impulse transmission, memory storage, and tissue structure. Lipids are the major component of cell membranes. Fat serve as an energy reserve for the body, particularly as exercise progresses past 20 minutes. From a performance stand point, excess body fat lowers your work to weight ratio, This means that a heavier person would consume more energy per minute of work resulting in a lower energy economy during activity.

In addition, excess body fat can lead to additional loads placed on joint during weight bearing activities such as running, causing joint distress. Healthy or athletic body fat percentages typically allow for more optimal performances, due to the improved economy and reduced injuries.

The immune system is often impaired when body fat stores are too low. A reduced ability to fight infections means more interruptions in training and more chance of being sick on race day. For female athletes, there are some very immediate consequences of a low body fat level, including a fall in circulating oestrogen levels.

This in turn can lead to a loss of bone mass, causing problems for women in later life through an increased risk of bone fracture.

Assessing body fat can be done using the following methodologies: Hydrostatic weighing, skinfold assessment and bio-electrical impedance. Of these methods, one that is both accurate and practical is skinfold measurement.

The measurements are taken with calipers, which gauge the skinfold thickness in millimeters of areas where fat typically accumulates i.

Once the measurements are recorded, the numbers are inserted into an equation that calculates a body fat percentage and alternatively body lean mass. Skinfold is a preferred method of body fat measurement for non-clinical settings because it is easy to administer with proven accuracy and is not obtrusive with regards to the patient.

It also provides much more data than just the final composition measurement - it also yields the thickness of many sites, which can be used as bases of comparison with future results.

For example, an abdominal skinfold improvement from 35mm to 24mm would show a significant improvement in that site even if the overall body fat percentage may have only reduced minimally.

BMI is often mistaken as measurable guide to body fat. Skinfold measurements are generally taken at specific sites on the right side of the body, with the tester pinching the skin at the location site and pulling the fold of skin away from the underlying muscle so only the skin and fat tissue are being held.

Special skinfold calipers are then used to measure the skinfold thickness in millimeters. Two measurements are recorded and averaged. The measurement sites vary depending upon the specific skinfold testing protocol being used, but typically include the following seven locations on the body.

These include the abdomen, midaxilla, pectoral area, quadriceps, subscapular area, suprailiac area, and triceps. Once you have taken skinfold measurements, you'll need to convert these numbers into a percent of body fat.

The easiest way to calculate the percent of body fat is to use a software program. There are as many different formulas and calculations as there are ways to measure skinfold thickness, but some that have held up over time include those published by Jackson and Pollock.

You can find these being used in the following online body fat calculators:. If you would like to measure your body fat percentage without requiring any special tools or measurements, you can also try out our calculator:. The accuracy of these tests may depend on the type of calipers being used, the competence of the tester, and a person's level of hydration at the time of the test.

Since using the calipers can be difficult, skinfold measurements may not be the best choice for assessing fat percentages, especially if you're trying to do it yourself.

With other technologies available, skinfold testing is becoming somewhat of an ancient art-form. Most personal trainers today use electrical impedance methods and scales that measure body composition instead of directly measuring skinfolds.

No matter the method you use, it's important to keep in mind that weight fluctuates constantly and most body composition tests should be used as a general reference point and are best when averaged over a given timeframe.

Beam JR, Szymanski DJ. Validity of 2 skinfold calipers in estimating percent body fat of college-aged men and women. J Strength Cond Res. Barreira TV, Staiano AE, Katzmarzyk PT. Validity assessment of a portable bioimpedance scale to estimate body fat percentage in white and African-American children and adolescents.

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com to another website, which may be a non-Cigna website. Cigna may not control the content or links of non-Cigna websites. Explore coverage through work Learn How to Buy Health Insurance Types of Dental Insurance Open Enrollment vs. For female athletes, there are some very immediate consequences of a low body fat level, including a fall in circulating oestrogen levels.

This in turn can lead to a loss of bone mass, causing problems for women in later life through an increased risk of bone fracture.

Assessing body fat can be done using the following methodologies: Hydrostatic weighing, skinfold assessment and bio-electrical impedance.

Of these methods, one that is both accurate and practical is skinfold measurement. The measurements are taken with calipers, which gauge the skinfold thickness in millimeters of areas where fat typically accumulates i. Once the measurements are recorded, the numbers are inserted into an equation that calculates a body fat percentage and alternatively body lean mass.

Skinfold is a preferred method of body fat measurement for non-clinical settings because it is easy to administer with proven accuracy and is not obtrusive with regards to the patient. It also provides much more data than just the final composition measurement - it also yields the thickness of many sites, which can be used as bases of comparison with future results.

For example, an abdominal skinfold improvement from 35mm to 24mm would show a significant improvement in that site even if the overall body fat percentage may have only reduced minimally. BMI is often mistaken as measurable guide to body fat. However, BMI is simply a weight to height ratio. It is a tool for indicating weight status in adults and general health in large populations.

BMI correlates mildly with body fat but when used in conjunction with a body fat measurement gives a very accurate presentation of your current weight status. With that being said, an elevated BMI above 30 significantly increases your risk of developing long-term and disabling conditions such as hypertension, diabetes mellitus, gallstones, stroke, osteoarthritis, and some forms of cancer.

For adults over 20 years old, BMI typically falls into one of the above categories see table above. UC Davis Health School of Medicine Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing News Careers Giving.

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UC Davis Health Sports Medicine Learning Center Body Composition. Body composition. Fundamentals With respect to health and fitness, body composition is used to describe the percentages of fat, bone and muscle in human bodies.