Body Composition Part 1
Body Composition
This is a huge topic that could be a never ending discussion. We will begin to break down this issue and continue to talk about it in stages. The information is designed to encourage and empower you to create the best you possible. Always remember that no one is perfect and perfection is never the goal. We simply want you to have the best information to make healthy decisions for you and your loved ones.
Body composition is the analysis of the body as a percentage of fat, fat free mass, and lean dry mass. These measurements allow for a greater understanding of the overall health of a client. It provides a more complete assessment than looking only at the total weight of a client. Total weight may fluctuate based on the amounts of muscle mass or fat mass, but without taking body composition into account there is no way to tell which type of tissue has increased or decreased. The current estimates are that 2 of every 3 Americans are overweight or obese. This number may appear to reflect only the dietary habits of Americans. However, if we look deeper at the issue of body composition we find the true scope and seriousness of the issue is far greater.
The health consequences of being overweight or obese are staggering. Being overweight or obese increases your risk for (in no order):
- Sleep apnea
- Metabolic syndrome, Diabetes
- Heart Disease, Hypercholesterolemia, Hypertension
- Gall Bladder Disease
- Respiratory Disease
- Arthritis, Degenerative Joint Disease
- Cancer
These are just some of the conditions affected by being overweight or obese, there are certainly more. When we examine this further we find that being overweight or obese is a sign that our body is out of balance. Again, back to the Dynamic Balance we have talked about before.
It is so vital to our health to be in this Dynamic Balance. How can weight be a sign of imbalance? Our body is retaining something that it should not in order for additional weight to remain on our body. This results in body composition percentages to be out of balance. Additional weight creates additional challenges. For example, we have more mass that our heart has to pump blood through. This increases the resistance to the heart. This increases the pressure within the vessels of the body. We know this condition as hypertension or high blood pressure. The initial medical treatment for improving hypertension is lifestyle change. This encompasses diet, exercise, stress reduction, and removal of toxins such as smoking and alcohol, among others. This is only one small example of how body composition affects our overall health. Many others are more dramatic and have far greater consequences on our daily lives.
Body composition is a sensitive subject for many people. None of us wants to feel that we are overweight or obese. How many of us can honestly say we have had self esteem issues associated with our body composition? And often our way of dealing with our body composition is to find excuses or reasons for why we might have “gained a few pounds”. This is a constant battle for many individuals that rarely results in a satisfactory conclusion. How many people have reached the goal of their weight loss program only to have the weight slowly creep back up?
The business of dieting reaches multi-billion dollar figures a year and shows no signs of slowing down. The reality of the issue is more complex than calories in versus calories burned. It is also more complex than the latest fad diet. It is an understanding of your body. It is an understanding that we are all different and have different physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual needs. It is understanding food. We are created with a uniqueness no one else shares, even among identical twins. It is this understanding of ourselves that allows us to create a lifestyle change that will succeed and is sustainable throughout our lifetime. It begins with a desire to change. This desire can only be drawn from within ourselves. Are you ready for that commitment to change?