Metabolic Age and Body Composition: Weight Alone Isn’t An Accurate Judge of Fitness

If you’ve played Wii Fit, you know that the game calculates a “fitness age” for you. For some people, it’s amusingly different from their actual age. Some people are told that they are years older than they actually are, bringing into question what kind of shape they are in. Others with more athletic tendencies and abilities are told that they are actually younger than their age. You’ve probably noticed the Wii Fit isn’t the perfect judge of someone’s “fitness age”, but Nintendo is definitely on to something.

The health and fitness industry is increasingly turning to “metabolic age” to help people determine their body composition. The reason the industry is trending towards composition rather than weight is simple: the breakdown of your body is more important than the weight of your body. In recent years, experts have discovered that people within normal height and weight requirements (who have healthy BMIs) can be at risk for health complications traditionally associated with overweight and obese people. As a rule of thumb, men should try to maintain 20% or less body fat, while women should try to stay around 30% or less body fat, though this number can differ as a woman ages.

Body composition monitors look a lot like typical bathroom scales, and can be found on the shelves of many retailers. Unlike scales, the monitors (utilizing either foot or hand-held devices) pass a small current through the body. Its sensors can tell when the current flows easily, as it does through muscle fiber, and when it slows down, as it does in fat. Using an algorithm, the machine calculates your body fat composition.

Each composition monitor boasts various features that can give you incredible statistics on your body, ranging from hydration levels to caloric requirements to metabolic ages. Experts are quick to caution that these numbers, just like the Wii’s “fitness age”, may not always be entirely accurate. However, checks of body composition – particularly what percent body fat you have – is something that should be measured at regular intervals, to ensure that you are maintaining a healthy body composition.

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