Posted on September 20, 2019 by Jenny Cromack
As part of National Fitness Day, here at motive8 we’re celebrating with a whole week of offers! One of these offers is to come and see the personal training team and have your body fat percentage measured using the snazzy InBody machine. As a nation we’re pretty obsessed with our weight (although I do think that is changing and people are realising this is not the ‘be all and end all’), but it’s not your weight which is important, it’s what’s on the inside which counts….ie the amount of fat vs muscle which you have.
What Does InBody Measure?
InBody is a super accurate, non-invasive way of measuring your body fat. It uses a method called bio-electrical impedance to assess your body fat, weight skeletal muscle mass and water content among other things. Very cleverly too, we can use it to plot the results of your weight, skeletal muscle mass and body fat to tell us a little bit more about your body composition. Ideally when we plot the results we’re looking for you to be a ‘D’ profile, where a larger percentage of your total body weight is made up of healthy skeletal muscle mass than body fat.
Why Is Body Fat Percentage Important?
Firstly, it’s a more accurate measure of telling us about whether someone is ‘underweight’, ‘normal weight’, ‘overweight’, ‘obese’, etc than the often used BMI. BMI (Body Mass Index) can be used to place people in these categories, but BMI tells you diddly-squat about someone’s body composition, i.e what their actual weight is made up off.
Body fat percentage paints a more accurate picture, as it tells us the actual amount of body fat you are carrying and whether this is healthy or not. It’s worth pointing out here that we do need some body fat to function and survive. Body fat keeps us warm, fat carries vitamins around the body, it’s a great energy source BUT too much body fat levels can lead to significant problems with our health such as lack of mobility, higher risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, certain cancers to name but a few.
What Should My Body Fat Percentage Be?
Body fat ranges vary with age, but as a general guide to be classed as healthy your body fat should sit at….
Males
20-39 years 10-20%
40-59 years 11-22%
59+ years 13-2%
Females
20-39 years 21-33%
40-59 years 23-34%
59+ years 24-36%
In summary, we want to keep the unhealthy fat tissue in the acceptable range and keep our active, skeletal muscle nice and high.
Why not come along and have your complimentary InBody assessment done during National Fitness Week at motive8, call 0113 243 0161 or email [email protected] to book.