Measuring up
Eastern offers free body composition tests
Laura Griffith
Issue date: 10/15/05 Section: The Verge
A person who is 6'3" and weighs 220 pounds has a BMI of 27.5, placing him into the overweight category.
BMI calculations can sometimes be horribly misleading, Pritschet said. That same person may be extremely muscular with a low body fat percentage.
"Muscle weighs more than fat, therefore a person can have a higher BMI and still be very lean," Frericks said.
However, for most people who are not athletes or body builders, BMI is generally accurate due to the fact that their fat and muscle distributions are fairly normal, according to Jennifer Taber, nutrition education coordinator.
"For most individuals, especially college students, BMI charts prove quite useful in determining overweight and obesity and any health implications that go with," she said.
"If you're wanting to lose weight, you need to know a reasonable amount of pounds to lose," Pritschet said. "If you gain weight, it's important to know what the composition of the weight gain is."
In addition to Eastern athletes and people who are monitoring their weight gain, physical education majors need to have a body composition test done for certain classes in their major.
The test is free for Eastern students, as is a nutritional analysis by Taber and the services of the SRC's personal trainer.
Information concerning nutritional analysis is available online at www.eiu.edu/~herc/ and students can make an appointment for a body composition test in the ATP lab located in the SRC.
"These services can prove quite beneficial in helping students establish lifelong healthy habits," Taber said.
BMI calculations can sometimes be horribly misleading, Pritschet said. That same person may be extremely muscular with a low body fat percentage.
"Muscle weighs more than fat, therefore a person can have a higher BMI and still be very lean," Frericks said.
However, for most people who are not athletes or body builders, BMI is generally accurate due to the fact that their fat and muscle distributions are fairly normal, according to Jennifer Taber, nutrition education coordinator.
"For most individuals, especially college students, BMI charts prove quite useful in determining overweight and obesity and any health implications that go with," she said.
"If you're wanting to lose weight, you need to know a reasonable amount of pounds to lose," Pritschet said. "If you gain weight, it's important to know what the composition of the weight gain is."
In addition to Eastern athletes and people who are monitoring their weight gain, physical education majors need to have a body composition test done for certain classes in their major.
The test is free for Eastern students, as is a nutritional analysis by Taber and the services of the SRC's personal trainer.
Information concerning nutritional analysis is available online at www.eiu.edu/~herc/ and students can make an appointment for a body composition test in the ATP lab located in the SRC.
"These services can prove quite beneficial in helping students establish lifelong healthy habits," Taber said.
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