What is Considered a Healthy Weight?

Generally speaking people rely too heavily on bathroom scales to provide a means of assessing the appropriateness of their body weight.  Unfortunately, this trust in the scale is often compromised as we are of the belief that if we lose (or gain, for that matter) weight by the scale, we have accomplished our goal.

Truth is, in the case of a desired weight loss, you don't have to look overweight to be considered clinically overfat, or even obese. Obesity is described as a body fat measuring 10 percentage points above the norm. (see table below).  In fact, even if your weight remains essentially unchanged over a period of years, you still could be subject to creeping obesity – a condition where the body becomes fatter due to prolonged inactivity.

Without the Scale, Where do I Turn?

The human body is composed of both fat weight and lean weight. By determining your body's composition, through scientific assessment measures, one can obtain a more accurate account of the health of one's body weight (scale weight). Furthermore, with a body composition assessment, it can help you establish your ideal weight, and is a better determination of how heart healthy your weight is. 

The body composition assessment technique can be helpful for the athlete as well.  For example, a wrestler or a swimmer can get measured for body fat content which can assist in establishing a more appropriate weight for their class of competition.

Where can I find a Body Composition Test?

There are three types of legitimate body composition measurement methods and related equipment which may be found in health/fitness clubs, sports medicine or academic clinics, or in limited cases, for purchase in certain department stores.

The most accurate and scientifically sound approach is the hydrostatic (underwater) weighing method.  By way of the water displacement principle, body density is determined and, by deduction, body fat is then calculated.  Due to the equipment expense and therefore more expensive to provide the service, this method is less commonly utilized by the general public.

A much more practical method to assess body composition is by the skinfold caliper.  With this technique, a trained technician uses (preferably) a spring-loaded steel caliper to measure the thickness of the subcutaneous fat-fold of skin.  This "pinch-an-inch" approach can be highly accurate when performed by a well experienced technician.  The 3 site measurements are plugged into a simple mathematical equation to convert skinfolds into a percentage of body fat.

The least desirable, by accuracy and reliability, is the electrical impedance analyzer (a.k.a. EIA) method.  This "devise" purports to measure body electrolyte changes by sending gentle electrical currents through the body.  The electrolyte composition may then be related to the body's fat and fat free weight.

WHAT ARE THE NORMS FOR MEN AND WOMEN?

           BODY FAT FOR THE AVERAGE POPULATION

                             < Age 30                30 – 50                50>

MALES                 9 – 15%              11 – 17%          12 – 19% 

FEMALES           14 – 21%              15 – 23%          16 – 25%

**The athletic population will vary by sport, but is generally lower for the age groups and gender as well.