What Shape Is Healthy? Body Composition, Body Shape, and Health

Abstract

Abstract Fat is one of the privileged few organs that has earned sufficient historic recognition for its importance to our well-being to be subject to routine inspection at home, in the clinic, and even the gym. We also tend to be very aware of how and where our clothes feel tight, whether we can squeeze comfortably into that economy seat on a plane or through that turnstile at the train station. But what do these feelings say about our health? Are we more in jeopardy if our gut is spilling over our belt, our bum is threatening to shred the seam of our trousers, or the scales are groaning under our weight? To obtain answers to such burning questions—answers which have implications that reach far beyond wardrobe malfunctions and uncomfortable travel—we must first understand techniques used to measure body composition and regional fat mass. Historically the preserve of a handful of enthusiastic experts, the colossal global burden of obesity and associated diseases has made accurate measurement of body composition and fat distribution a key research tool in the scientific and clinical arenas. This chapter reviews the various measurement techniques before examining the data they’ve generated on the striking yet complex relationship between body composition and fat distribution with health outcomes.

Cite this paper

@incollection{denton2021what,
  title = {{What Shape Is Healthy? Body Composition, Body Shape, and Health}},
  author = {Denton, Nathan},
  pages = {121--160},
  year = {2021},
  doi = {10.1093/med/9780198865278.003.0005}
}

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