The Army Training System - AskTOP

Body composition, which refers tothe body’s relative amounts of fat andlean body mass (organs, bones, muscles),is one of the five components ofphysical fitness. Good body compositionis best gained through proper dietand exercise. Examples of poor bodycomposition are underdeveloped musculatureor excessive body fat. Beingoverweight (that is, overly fat) is themore common problem.Poor body composition causes problemsfor the Army. Soldiers withinadequate muscle development cannotperform as well as soldiers withgood body composition. As a soldiergets fat, his ability to perform physicallydeclines, and his risk of developingdisease increases. Soldiers withhigh percentages of body fat oftenhave lower APFT scores than thosewith lower percentages. Poor bodycomposition, especially obesity, has anegative effect on appearance, self--esteem, and negatively influences attitudeand morale.The Army’s weight control programis described in AR 600-9. It addressesbody composition standards,programs for the overly fat, and relatedadministrative actions.The amount of fat on the body,when expressed as a percentage oftotal body weight, is referred to as thepercent body fat. The Army’s maximumallowable percentages of bodyfat, by age and sex, are listed in Figure5-1.Evaluation MethodsThe Army determines body fatpercentage using the girth method.(This is described in AR 600-9, pages12 to 21.)Body composition is influenced byage, diet, fitness level, and geneticfactors (gender and body type). TheArmy’s screening charts for height andweight (shown in AR 600-9) make allowancesfor these differences. Asoldier whose weight exceeds the standardweight shown on the charts maynot necessarily be overfat. For example,some well-muscled athletes havebody weights that far exceed the valuesfor weight listed on the charts for theirage, gender, and height. Yet, only asmall percentage of their total bodymass may be fat. In such cases, the leanbody mass accounts for a large share oftheir total body composition, whileonly a small percentage of the totalbody mass is composed of fat.Soldiers who do not meet the weightstandards for their height and/or soldierswhose appearance suggests thatthey have excessive fat are to beevaluated using the circumference (girthmeasurement) method described inAR 600-9.Body composition isinfluenced by age,fitness level, andgenetic factors.Figure 5-15-0