Body Fat Scales
When it comes to measuring body fat, while some people may turn to the scales, it is important to remember that the concept of being obese has absolutely nothing to do with one’s weight, but rather the amount of adipose tissue in their bodies. For this reason the only real way to measure body fat, is with a body fat meter. This body fat meter is the only true body fat scales available. Basically, what these body fat scales do is that they measure the amount of fat in ones body. Adipose tissue is body fat and it is brown adipose tissue, or BAT which is the largest culprit of obesity. There are a variety of different types of body fat scales available and each one is designed to determine the amount of body fat in the person in a different way. These scales can be both expensive as well as relatively cheap. On the expensive side you have the bioelectrical impedance analysis or BIA which gets its measurements through the passage of minute amounts of current through the body and measures the resistance of it. The concept of course is that different types of tissues resist electrical current in varying amounts and thus this body fat scale can determine the amount of fat in the body. The amount of adipose tissue that your body carries is dependant on a lot of factors including your height, the amount of muscle mass as well as your health and overall shape. While the development of this body fat is based on genetics, the excessive development of body fat is caused by excessively eating foods which are high in fatty acids without burning them off sufficiently. For this reason, it is completely possible to be 5’ 10” tall and weigh in at 250 pounds without being obese. Many people who work out on a regular basis can achieve this and it is in no way considered to be fat. However, this weight is based on muscle mass and not fat, the concept of being obese on the other hand has to do with the adipose tissue and its amount versus the amount of muscle mass. This is why body fat scales and their uses to determine one’s body fat percentage is very important. Knowing how much fat your body has can help you reduce “weight” if you are obese. It is this percentage of body fat versus safe levels, that needs to be burned off and assuming that you are of a lean body style, then if you appear overweight, you could have a lot more fat to get rid of versus someone who has a larger more muscular body style and the same weight. The use of body fat scales are the only real way of determining this body fat percentage as you cannot really see it, or weigh it. While certain tissues do have specific weights, you also have to keep in mind that because there are also other cells in the body fat like blood vessels and nerves, even if we could somehow see the fat through a scanner, estimating the body fat percentage would still have to be done through the use of body fat scales.
| Path: IBP: Body Fat: Scales: |
|