How to measure body composition

Americans have a problem: We obsess too much about how much we weigh. Research shows that the quality of our body's composition is more important than scale weight. So stop obsessing about scale weight, and start paying attention to composition!

Body composition is what your body is made up from --- bone, fat, and muscle.
There are two key measures of body composition that you should pay know and track:

Girth

• Girth is important because if you have too much fat deep inside your belly, it increases your risk of heart disease, diabetes and cancer.

• Girth is measured by taking the circumference of your waist across your belly button.

• For women, the goal for girth should be 35 inches or less; for men, 40 inches or less

Percent of Body Fat

• Percent of body fat is important because too much overall fat in your body increases your health risks --- especially the risk for breast cancer in women.

• It can be measured using a relatively inexpensive special body fat percentage scale, or having a trainer use skin calipers.

• For women, the goal for percent of body weight is 25%. (It can be in the high 20s as you age into your 40s, 50s and beyond, but the goal is 25%.) For men, the goal is 20 to 25%