For bodybuilders and fitness enthusiasts, changing body composition often reflects hard work and discipline—but knowing body composition is useful for anyone, and for more than just bragging rights.

At the start of 2025, I knew I wanted to lose a little body fat. I just didn't want to be miserable doing it. All the weight loss tactics I'd grown up internalizing — painstakingly tracking calories ...

This article was reviewed by Felix Gussone, MD. Key Takeaways: Body composition offers a clearer picture of health than weight alone, because it reflects your unique proportions of fat, muscle, bone, ...

Locating specific, localized distributions of fat and muscle in body composition is intuitively and imprecisely implied by body shape. Now, a team of researchers has discovered that the unique ...

There are various types of body composition tests (more on these below). Still, each one measures the percentages of fat and fat-free mass (muscle and bone) in the body. Knowing these percentages can ...

Don’t be so focused on the number on the scale that you forget to consider important metrics like body fat percentage and waist circumference. Strong indicators of overall body composition, these ...

A soldier receives a 3-D body scan at Fort Bragg, N.C. on Oct. 18, 2021. The scan/study is part of a comprehensive body composition study examining the association between body composition and Soldier ...

Establishing a strong nutritional foundation during the first two years of life has been globally recognized by experts as a priority to ensure optimal growth, functional development and health later ...

To anyone following the brouhaha surrounding fitness standards across the U.S. military, the Air Force’s six-month delay in resuming body composition measurements comes as no surprise. Three years ...

The Lilliputian tailors measure Gulliver for a new suit of clothing, from Part I of Jonathan Swift's "Gulliver's Travels." (1726) Illustration (1909) by Arthur Rackham (1867-1939) Source: Alamy stock ...

In this op-ed, the author argues the Army’s outdated body composition policies are quietly eroding the readiness, health and performance of the force. (Pfc. Lilliana Fraser/Army) The Army’s outdated ...

Logistics Specialist 2nd Class Samuel Hill weighs Intelligence Specialist 3rd Class Nathan Perrin during body composition assessments aboard the carrier Abraham Lincoln. (MCS Joey Sitter/Navy) Later ...