Measuring body fat helps identify health risks and evaluate body composition. A weight scale provides us with a number signifying the weight of ALL our body tissues.

Body composition provides us with percentages of body fat and lean body mass. It is important to note that body mass index BMI and waist circumference WC do not assess body fat percentage. BMI is calculated by dividing weight in kilograms by height in meters squared. Understanding body composition is important to understanding weight loss.

The person could have a low body fat percentage, which would classify them as lean. Athletes are a prime example of this because they have more muscle mass. And muscle weighs more than fat. It can assess our risk for obesity-related complications, but it still does not tell us the composition of our weight.

WC also suggests our increased risk for obesity-related health problems because of the location of excess fat — in the abdominal area where the dangerous visceral fat is located. Summary: Weight loss does not always come from fat.

Focus should be on reducing body fat percentage to build a leaner body composition. Lean body composition, not solely weight loss, should be your primary gauge of your physique. Body fat assessments vary in their precision and accuracy.

Common anthropometric measures include: weight, waist circumference and skinfold measurements using skin calipers. To measure WC, stand relaxed and place a cloth tape measure around the smallest part of the waist.

More complex methods include: bioelectrical impedance analysis BIA , the BOD POD and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry DEXA or DXA. You should a methodology based on what is appropriate for you because each methodology has pros and cons.

Skin Calipers: Quick and Easy. A couple of bucks can get you skin calipers. This feasible skin fold assessment gathers measurements from a few body sites. Following a pinch of the skin, the thickness of the skin fold is measured using skin calipers. Measurements, with specific protocols, are taken from the chest, arm, abdominals and thighs.

The measurements are then plugged into an equation to estimate body composition. Body fat percentage can be determined within minutes, but the margin of error should be considered. This type of method requires accurate readings.

It is suggested to measure from the same spots each time. Fortunately with this measurement, a study found that using skin calipers to calculate total body fat percentage did not significantly differ from the value calculated using a portable ultra sound.

Yet, skin calipers provide regional body fat data because it does not measure deep belly fat. Therefore, it is a good relative measure of body fat. Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis BIA. BIA scales range from simple — a scale with electrodes under the feet - to complex — a handheld scale with electrodes.

BIA relies on electric current that flows at different rates through the body depending on body composition. The body also consists of body fat, or non-conducting material, which resists electric current and contains little water.

BIA estimates body fat by measuring how easily the current moves through the body. Body fat will resist electric current more than body protein. A voltage drop occurs in response to impedance. Following BIA measurement, predictive equations considering weight, height, sex and age estimate free fat mass.

According to the skulpt website, the The technology behind the device is called electrical impedance myography or EIM for short. In addition to estimating body fat, it uses a score called MQ to measure muscle quality, a unique measurement the company believes consumers should track.

The BIA approach to estimating body fat is more limited in evaluating body composition in individuals compared to groups. BIA has higher sensitivity and specificity for yielding average adiposity for certain groups of people.

Predictive equations for BIA have been developed for certain groups of various age groups for both sexes, including samples from Caucasian populations in the U. and Europe as well as African Americans and Hispanics.

Therefore, the validity of these equations should be considered because it may affect the amount and direction of measurement error in BIA. Another limitation to BIA is that it does not measure belly fat, the most dangerous fat. This is because electric current tends to follow the path of least resistance in the body.

BIA measures free fat mass only, which makes it a less desirable body fat measurement tool for individuals. During the assessment, the door will open and close for two second assessments. The air displacement calculates body mass, volume and density.

The BOD POD estimates body fat, and InsideTracker's own Ryan Cohen is seen here getting his own composition tested. Ryan is a very data driven fitness and health consumer. One study compared percent fat estimates between the BODY POD and DEXA. A significant mean difference of 2.

The study could not determine what accounted for the difference. Also, as body fatness increased, the difference also increased. The weighted linear regression model investigated the difference in body fat and Bone Mineral Density BMD in different gender. Multivariate adjusted smoothing curve-fitting and multiple linear regression models were used to explore whether an association existed between body fat distribution and BMD.

Last, a subgroup analysis was performed according to age and gender group. Overall, participants were included in this study. The Gynoid fat mass, subgroup analysis of age and ethnicity reached similar results.

Body fat in different regions was positively associated with BMD in different sites, and this association persisted in subgroup analyses across age and race in different gender.

Peer Review reports. Obesity was one of the serious health concerns affecting the health of the global population [ 1 ], especially in the US [ 2 ]. It had been shown that the adverse effects of obesity might be related to fat distribution [ 3 ]. Android obesity also known as abdominal obesity, apple-shaped obesity was associated with increased cardiovascular risk [ 4 ], mortality [ 5 ], or hypertension [ 6 ].

However, other studies suggested that Gynoid obesity also known as pear-shaped obesity may be related to a reduced cardiovascular disease risk [ 7 ] and metabolic disease [ 8 ].

So, what was the effect of fat distribution on BMD without considering body lean weight? This topic remained insufficiently researched. Most previous studies used Body Mass Index BMI to assess obesity and explore the association between BMI and BMD [ 9 , 10 ] and concluded a positive association.

Nevertheless, BMI was widely used because it was easy to calculate, but it did not distinguish between fat, muscle, and fat distribution in different body sites. Furthermore, the extant studies that had examined the association between body fat and BMD reached controversial conclusions.

In studies of Chinese populations, some studies had concluded that body fat mass was positively associated with BMD in both men and women [ 11 , 12 , 13 ], while other studies had concluded that increased fat had a negative effect on BMD [ 14 ]. Differential findings across gender in studies of populations in Brazil [ 15 ], Japan [ 16 ], Australia [ 17 ], and elsewhere were also found.

Furthermore, some of the available studies suggested that there might be differences in fat distribution between males and females. This gender difference in fat distribution might be related to congenital genetics [ 20 ] and acquired environment [ 21 ], but whether this potentially different fat distribution affected the BMD of the femur or lumbar spine in different gender had not been well studied.

Thus, this study aimed to investigate the association between body fat distribution Android fat and Gynoid fat and different sites of BMD Femur and Lumbar spine in different gender populations in the US. Moreover, we hypothesized that android fat mass might be associated with higher lumbar spine BMD, while gynoid fat mass associated with higher femur BMD in males and females.

This cross-sectional research selected datasets from the NHANES project, a nationally representative project to evaluate the health and nutritional status in the US. Database data was open to all researchers worldwide and easily accessible from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC website.

In this study, we used the NHANES — and NHANES —, as these were the only two datasets that had data on both BMD and body fat mass. After the datasets were downloaded from the CDC website to personal devices, EmpowerStats software was applied to merge and analyze the data.

Before the beginning of this study, the following people were not included: 1 Pregnant; 2 Received radiographic contrast agents in the past week; 3 Had body fat mass exceeding the device limits; 4 Had congenital malformations or degenerative diseases of the spine; 5 Had lumbar spinal surgery; 6 Had hip fractures or congenital malformations; 7 Had hip surgery; 8 Had implants in the spine, hip or body, or other problems affecting body measurements.

From NHANES datasets, 20, participants were initially included in this study, 14, participants without femoral or lumbar spine BMD data, participants without body fat data, and 7 participants taking anti-osteoporosis or weight-loss pills were excluded. Eventually, a total of participants were included Fig.

The DXA model was Hologic QDR A Fan Beam Bone Densitometer Hologic, Inc. The following methods were used for quality control: 1 monitoring of staff and machine operating conditions; 2 DXA scans followed standard radiological techniques, with expert review of all results to verify accuracy and consistency of results; 3 densitometers were calibrated daily through a rigorous body-mode scanning program, with longitudinal monitoring and cross-calibration of instruments at each site, using cumulative statistical methods CUSUM and Mobile Examination Center MEC -specific model data to identify breaks in densitometer calibration during the survey.

The Android area was the area of the lower part of the trunk bounded by two lines: the horizontal cut line of the pelvis on its lower side and a line automatically placed above the pelvic line. Gynoid was defined by an upper line and a lower line, with the upper line being 1.

The BMD measurement device information was the Hologic QDRA sector beam densitometer Hologic, Inc. The femur and lumbar spine were scanned, including the Total femur, Femoral neck, and Total spine regions.

Quality control of staff, scanning instruments, and scanning results were performed throughout the scanning process. The following covariates were selected: demographics age, race, education level, and poverty ratio , personal habits physical activity, smoke, and alcohol use , comorbidities osteoporosis, high blood pressure, and diabetes , and body measurements Height, Weight, Body Mass Index.

Demographic characteristics, personal habits, and comorbidity results were obtained from questionnaires, and body measurements were obtained from machine measurements. All study models were analyzed in gender subgroups to explore whether a gender difference existed between body fat distribution and BMD.

Dichotomous variables were expressed as percentages, and weighted chi-square tests were used to calculate P -values. Smoothing curve fitting models were used to assess whether there was an association between Android fat mass, Gynoid fat mass, and Android to Gynoid ratio and BMD.

Finally, age and race analyses under different gender subgroups were performed with the same analytical models as above. All analyses were performed with R software 3. The basic characteristics of the participants were shown in Table 1.

Among male participants, While for female participants, The multivariate-adjusted smoothed curve fitting models were used to investigate the association between Android fat mass, Gynoid fat mass and Android to Gynoid ratio and BMD in males and females.

There was a linear positive association between Android fat mass and BMD in each region, regardless of male or female Fig. Similarly, there was also a linear positive association between Gynoid fat mass and individual regional BMD in different gender participants Fig. However, there was no apparent curvilinear association between the Android to Gynoid ratio and BMD in each region in males or females Fig.

The association between Android fat mass and BMD. Total femur; B. Femoral neck; C. Total spine. The association between Gynoid fat mass and BMD. The association between Android to Gynoid ratio and BMD. Android fat mass was positively associated with Total femur BMD, Femoral neck BMD and Total spine BMD.

Similarly, there was a similar positive association between Gynoid fat mass and BMD in both males and females Results were shown in Table 2.

In different age groups, Android fat mass Males, Supplementary Table 1 , Supplementary Fig. In different race groups, Android fat mass Males, Supplementary Table 3 , Supplementary Fig.

In this US population-based cross-sectional research, we investigated the difference in body fat distribution in different gender and the association between body fat mass and BMD. There was a positive association between body fat distribution Android and Gynoid and BMD at each site Femur and Lumbar spine in both males and females.

Lastly, this association persisted when subgroup analyses for age and race were performed. The main finding of this study was that body fat mass Android or Gynoid was positively associated with BMD, regardless of gender Males or Females or sites Femur or Lumbar spine , which was inconsistent with our hypothesis or conventional perception.

Gender differences were found in body fat distribution, consistent with the previous studies [ 24 , 25 ]. In males, fat was more likely to be concentrated in the abdomen Android fat , and in females, fat was more likely to be concentrated in the buttocks Gynoid fat [ 26 ].

Genome-wide association studies from the UK Biobank suggested that specific loci might determine fat distribution [ 27 ]. On the other hand, gene-environment-related effects were one of the possible mechanisms.

Metabolomics [ 28 ], microbiomics [ 29 ], and the dietary lifestyle of individuals might all be involved. The positive association was similar to the conclusions reached by numerous previous studies, for example, in Asian regions [ 11 , 16 , 30 ], and European regions [ 31 , 32 ].

Also, some studies have concluded that there was no association or negative association between fat distribution and BMD [ 33 , 34 , 35 ]. Possible reasons for the inconsistent conclusions drawn from the above studies were as follows: 1 the sample size was too small, with most studies including only tens or hundreds of samples; 2 differences in age, gender, and ethnicity of the included participants; 3 differences in adjusted covariates when performing correlation analyses; and 4 other unknown reasons.

Several possible explanations for the higher body fat mass associated with higher BMD. First, the more body fat there was, the greater the mechanical load on the bones. The mechanical load was very important for BMD maintenance [ 36 , 37 ], and BMD would also decrease if one lost weight [ 38 ] or were in a weightless environment [ 39 ].

Second, hormones in high body fat individuals were important for protecting BMD. Estrogen was an early discovery of adipocyte-derived hormone, where androgens in adipocytes were transformed into estrogen by the action of aromatase [ 40 , 41 ].

In addition, other hormones such as leptin [ 42 ] and insulin [ 43 ] were also involved in the adipose-bone mechanistic process. Finally, adipocytes and bone cells had a common origin from mesenchymal stem cells, and to some extent, adipogenesis and osteogenesis were dynamic processes involving multiple factors [ 44 , 45 ].

The clinical significance of the present study was that, among other diseases, obesity could be considered a heterogeneous disease, where different body fat distribution might produce completely different or even opposite effects [ 46 , 47 ].

However, for bone BMD, all were positively correlated and did not vary by the sites femur or lumbar spine or other differences sex, age and race. Existing studies were not well explicit in exploring the association between fat distribution and BMD, and the lack of mechanistic studies made it difficult to explain this phenomenon.

One possible reason was that, in the elderly, android fat and gynoid fat were interlinked and interconvertible [ 48 ]. Another possible explanation was that whether android fat or gynoid fat, they both had endocrine functions that produced estrogen, leptin, and others that had beneficial impacts on Bone [ 49 ].

In the future, more studies were needed to investigate the underlying reasons for the positive effect of body fat distribution on BMD. In the end, the subgroup analysis led to the same conclusion. This indicated that the effect of body fat distribution on BMD was also not significantly related to age and race.

The strengths of this study were the following: 1 a representative large sample study; 2 the association of fat distribution Android and Gynoid on BMD at different sites Femur and Lumbar spine was explored in different gender populations; 3 adjusted for multiple covariates; 4 subgroup analysis was performed.

Therefore, to the best of our knowledge, the results of this study needed to be interpreted with caution. In addition, this positive correlation was also present in subgroups of age and race. However, the positive association between fat distribution and BMD was unrelated to sites Femur or Lumbar spine or gender Males or Females.

The datasets used and analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request. Jaacks LM, Vandevijvere S, Pan A, McGowan CJ, Wallace C, Imamura F, et al.

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Pop Quiz: Which gender do you think carries their weight in this area, and experiences, generally, more of these more internal health signs? This fat accumulates around the hips and buttocks.

Individuals who hold their excess fat in this region tend to suffer from mechanical problems such as hip, knee and other joint issues, versus metabolic or hormonal issues. In addition, this distribution of fat actually has a negative risk factor for heart and metabolic disease!

Pop Quiz: Which gender do you think hold their weight in the bottom half of their body, and what sorts of issues do these people generally run into in regards to movement?

The Difference Between Android and Gynoid Obesity. Are you an Apple, a Pear, or neither? Android Vs. Gynoid: This fat accumulates around the hips and buttocks. Next week we will go over how to determine what type of shape we have of these two, using an easy at home measuring method!

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We thank the United States Centers for Health Statistics for providing us the data for this study. ISO and RL conceived the study.

ISO analyzed data and prepared the manuscript. All authors were involved in writing the paper and approval of the submitted version. Department of Family Medicine, Medical Center of Central Georgia and Mercer University School of Medicine, Macon, GA, USA.

You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar. Correspondence to I S Okosun. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.

Reprints and permissions. Okosun, I. Commingling effect of gynoid and android fat patterns on cardiometabolic dysregulation in normal weight American adults.

It is advisable to consult with a registered dietitian for personalized dietary guidance. Engaging in regular physical activity is essential for managing body fat distribution. Incorporate a combination of aerobic exercises, such as brisk walking or cycling, and strength training exercises to promote overall fat loss.

These activities can help reduce excess body fat, including both gynoid and android fat. Aim for at least minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity per week, along with muscle-strengthening activities on two or more days.

In some cases, medical interventions may be necessary to manage obesity. Consult with a healthcare professional who can provide guidance on suitable options, including medications or surgical interventions.

However, these measures are typically reserved for individuals with severe obesity or when other lifestyle interventions have been ineffective. DEXA stands for Dual-Energy X-ray Absorptiometry, a specialized imaging technique used to measure bone density and body composition.

Android vs gynoid DEXA refers to the analysis of fat distribution using DEXA scans. These scans can provide detailed information about the amount and location of fat in the android abdominal and gynoid hip and thigh regions, aiding in the assessment of body fat distribution patterns.

Gynoid obesity is more commonly observed in females. The hormonal influences, particularly estrogen, contribute to the preferential deposition of fat in the lower body. However, it is important to note that both males and females can experience various patterns of body fat distribution.

Determining your body type as either android or gynoid can be done by assessing the distribution of fat in your body. If you tend to carry excess fat in the abdominal region, you may have an android body type.

Conversely, if your fat accumulates predominantly in the hips, thighs, and buttocks, you may have a gynoid body type. However, it is essential to consult with a healthcare professional for a comprehensive evaluation. Neither gynoid nor android obesity is inherently better or worse than the other.

Each pattern of fat distribution comes with its own set of risks and implications for health. It is important to focus on overall health and adopt a balanced approach to managing body weight and fat distribution.

Phone number. Email Address. About Us. Whitening Facial. Obesity is a complex issue, with genetic and environmental factors playing a role in body fat distribution.

Any kind of excess weight may contribute to health problems, but gynoid obesity seems to be associated with a lower risk of obesity-related health issues than excess fat in the abdominal area. Talk to your healthcare provider for an evaluation. They can explain your risks and devise a plan to help you achieve and maintain a healthy weight.

Home - The Thread Health What is gynoid obesity? Gynoid obesity. Abdominal or android obesity. Android vs. gynoid obesity. Explore more. Severe or morbid obesity: Risk factors and complications.

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