| With so many diets and fads being offered on | | | | Absorptiometry (DEXA) and the second, |
| the market today, it is no wonder why people | | | | Hydrostatic Weighing. With DEXA, a full body |
| are not just confused about weight loss and | | | | scanner is used that reads and differentiates |
| health, but in many cases, actually doing | | | | between bone mass and soft tissue mass. This |
| their body more harm than good. | | | | type of scan can be completed in about 20 |
| Unfortunately, one of the aspects of dieting | | | | minutes and is painless, providing accuracy |
| that you see most often is the reduction or | | | | within a 2% error margin. Many insurance |
| elimination of fat. The problem is that the | | | | companies will cover the cost of DEXA but if |
| body needs a certain amount of fat to | | | | not, you can have the scan performed for |
| function but without going over a healthy | | | | around $100. |
| level. As you will see in this article, | | | | |
| knowing what the right level is and how to | | | | With Hydrostatic Weighing, the body is |
| monitor it are crucial to overall health and | | | | weighed underwater. The test consists of |
| wellness. | | | | sitting on a scale underneath water while |
| | | | blowing out as much air from your lungs as |
| Studies have been able to link certain | | | | possible. Then when dunked below the waters |
| conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, | | | | surface, you would blow out even more air. |
| and high blood pressure with high levels of | | | | Because fat does not weigh as much as water, |
| body fat. The key is to ensure your body has | | | | the more fat a persons body has, the more |
| enough fat to function properly but not too | | | | they will float. Therefore, Hydrostatic |
| much, whereby disease could become a problem. | | | | Weighing works by measuring underwater weight |
| The best way for a person to determine the | | | | so that body density can be determined. |
| level of body fat is by measuring it on a | | | | |
| consistent basis with a simple tool called a | | | | On the other hand, if you want to have the |
| caliper. In a matter of minutes, you will | | | | option of determining your fat-to-muscle |
| know exactly how much body fat you are | | | | ratio on your own and every day if you like, |
| carrying around with you. With this | | | | you can simply purchase a caliper from drug |
| information, you will then be able to adjust | | | | stores, health equipment stores, and even on |
| your diet, cardio exercises, and weight | | | | the internet. Just remember that if you are |
| training to bring the fat-to-muscle ratio in | | | | interested in losing weight, instead of |
| line. | | | | depending on the bathroom scale, it is |
| | | | important that you worry more about the |
| Keep in mind that there are several options, | | | | excess fat being carried. While a standard |
| one being a body fat analyzer. Additionally, | | | | scale will tell you if you are losing weight |
| there is the skin fold test whereby waist to | | | | from diet and exercise, a scale will not tell |
| hip ratio measurements will be taken, | | | | if you are losing the bodys muscle or fat. |
| circumference measurements, hydrostatic | | | | |
| weight, near infrared analysis, bioelectrical | | | | Understanding how to measure and monitor your |
| impedance, total body potassium | | | | body fat gives you a level of control to your |
| determination, and a test recently offered | | | | future. The problem is that the majority of |
| called the plethysmographic measurement, | | | | people know very little about their bodies. |
| which is based on the principle of air | | | | To become and stay healthy, you need to |
| displacement. All of these tests are good | | | | understand your body - how it works and what |
| indicators of your current fat-to-muscle | | | | your body composition is so you can make |
| ratio. | | | | choices that will be best for your overall |
| | | | health and wellness. Again, the best way to |
| Now, if you want to go through a professional | | | | achieve this is to incorporate good diet, |
| to determine your true body fat level, you | | | | cardio exercise, and moderate weight training |
| have two excellent options, both being | | | | into your daily routine, along with measuring |
| accurate. The first is the Dual Energy X-Ray | | | | your fat-to-muscle ratio with a caliper. |