Health and appearance are two important things. Talking about achieving an ideal body shape, we may be more concerned with weight. However, there is a deeper concept that needs to be understood, namely body composition .
The main objective in measuring body composition is to evaluate nutritional status by calculating fat mass, fat-free mass, mineral content, and/or fluid in the body (intracellular and extracellular).
Body composition is the description and size of the compartments that make up a person's body. Body composition consists of two groups:
- Fat mass: a representation of the body's reserve energy reserves
Subcutaneous Fat: fat under the skin that functions as thermoregulation, preventing trauma, and energy reserves.
Visceral fat: fat in the abdominal cavity that covers internal organs, is associated with a high risk of metabolic disease.
- Fat-free mass: includes body parts other than fat tissue. Fat-free mass consists of bones, muscles, organs, ligaments, tendons, and water. Muscle mass is the largest component of non-fat mass that describes the metabolic rate and overall health of the body.
Why is Body Composition Measurement important?
Body composition is a tool that functions to assess:
- Health status: Body composition measures the percentage of fat in the body. Having excess body fat, especially fat around the organs (visceral body fat), increases the risk of various diseases, such as heart disease, diabetes, and some types of cancer.
- Fitness Level: Athletes and regular exercisers can use body composition as a tool to assess muscle mass. Body composition helps athletes optimize strength, endurance, and overall athletic performance.
- Nutritional Status: Body composition can see a person's nutritional status including obesity and body composition assessment can improve the diagnosis of obesity and monitoring the response to obesity treatment. In addition, body composition can also assess someone with malnutrition, chronic malnutrition can be characterized by a decrease in both fat mass and fat-free mass. Malnutrition can be associated with length of stay, morbidity, quality of life, health costs, and mortality.
- Metabolic status: Having excess fat can increase the risk of metabolic diseases, including insulin resistance, cholesterol and triglyceride imbalances, high blood pressure, uncontrolled blood sugar, and a slower metabolism. Body composition testing is an effective way to monitor and reduce these risks.
- Weight management: Weight loss is often accompanied by a loss of lean mass, especially muscle, which can hinder long-term weight loss by slowing metabolism and increasing fatigue. Monitoring body composition can help maintain lean mass and reduce fat mass.
Article written by dr. Noviyanti, Sp.GK (Clinical Nutrition Specialist Doctor, EMC Cikarang Hospital).