Your Path to Healthy Living and a Healthy Life

The Importance of Knowing Your Body Composition

By John Yim, N.D.

This article first appeared in the Nanaimo News Bulletin

     Are you trying to lose weight this year?  Join the club; you are not alone.  Well over 100 million North Americans are overweight.  This problem also affects our children.  Recently Statistics Canada reported that 37% of Canadian children are overweight.

            Being overweight is not just a cosmetic problem.  It is associated with increased incidence of high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, congestive heart failure, diabetes, hormonal problems, and many others conditions.

            A common denominator in being overweight and all the above conditions is altered body composition.  Usually there is increased fat deposition and/or loss of muscle mass resulting in an increased fat-to-muscle ratio and often, increased weight.

            Having said that, don’t have the illusion that weight alone gives accurate assessments of altered body composition.  Even “normal” weight people may have high fat-to- muscle ratios and are not healthy.

            Your goal this year should not be just to lose weight because when most people lose weight, the majority of the loss is from muscle and some from fat.  Make your goal to improve your body composition, lose fat and gain muscle.

            Start by determining your current body composition.  Several methods exist such as the body mass index, waist-to-hip ratio, skin-fold thickness, and bioelectric impedance analysis (BIA).

            In my clinic, we use a BIA machine because it is consistent, fast, and very safe.  The BIA sends gentle electric signals through the body (different tissues and fluid affect the speed at which the signal travels) and the machine calculates body composition.

            Our BIA machine calculates body hydration, metabolic rate, cellular health, toxicity level, as well as fat and muscle percentages.

            The key to altering one’s body composition favourably is to combine exercise with sensible nutrition.  Either one of these on its own is not nearly as effective.  Their synergy, plus your dedication will give spectacular results.

            Work with a health professional who is trained in exercise therapy.  They can design a program with an aerobic component to help burn calories and a strength-building component.

            I can already hear some readers complaining, “Do I have to do weights?”  Yes, you have to do resistance work in order to build muscle.  The more muscle mass you have, the more metabolically active your body will become and you will burn more calories even when resting.

            For the nutrition component, work with a naturopathic physician to design a program for weight loss, maintaining muscle mass, and for optimum health.

            This year, don’t be content with just losing weight; alter your body composition.  You will not only feel great about yourself, but you will decrease your risk for all kinds of future health problems.