What is body recomposition? BMI, weight loss goals and more explained

The worlds of fitness and nutrition can be overwhelming. One fitness instructor may stress the importance of cardio workouts while another pushes bodybuilding and protein powder. And there's no shortage of trendy diets, weight loss pills, and nutritional advice when it comes to healthy weight management.

Enter body recomposition: a dietary and fitness approach that combines the dual objectives of losing weight and gaining muscle. It's been followed by weightlifters and elite athletes for decades, though it's only recently gained traction with the masses. "Rather than focusing on body weight goals and weight loss goals, body recomposition aims to increases lean muscle mass while also reducing fat mass at the same time," says Camilla Madziar, MPH, LDN, a registered dietitian and assistant director for the Center of Applied Nutrition at UMass Chan Medical School.

Body composition is what's used to analyze a person's distribution and percentage of fat, water, bone, and muscle weight. While many people who want to lose weight focus on the numbers on their scale or their body mass index (BMI) alone, body recomposition is about "building a better fat-to-muscle ratio," says Jesse Bracamonte, MD, DO, a family medicine physician at Mayo Clinic in Arizona.

Another way of looking at it is that "recomposition simply means changing your overall body composition," explains Ashley Hagensick, MEd, RD, a sports dietitian at Intermountain Health. It's a process meant to help one build stronger, leaner muscles while simultaneously decreasing body fat through targeted nutrition and fitness.

Part of doing so requires an understanding about the body's three types of muscles:

"We have bone and connective muscle tissue that make up lean (skeletal) muscle mass and we have superficial and visceral fat that make up fat mass," explains Heather Milton, MS, an exercise physiologist supervisor at NYU Langone Sports Performance Center. "For optimal health, we want little visceral fat - the fat that surrounds organs." Body recomposition aims to increase skeletal muscles while also decreasing this visceral fat around the body.

For many, this begs the question whether traditional weight loss techniques such as cutting calories or body recomposition is a better approach. The experts say there's no one-size-fits-all answer. "Depending on your age, gender, genetics, exercise level, sleep and stress, body recomposition can be easier for some and harder for others," says Hagensick.

One's overall goals matter, too. "Are you looking to decrease your (blood sugar) levels or are you looking to improve your muscle mass as you transition through menopause?," asks Hagensick. "Depending on your overall health and well-being goals, you might just focus on total pounds versus body composition."

Bracamonte agrees that it varies from person to person, and says both body composition and weight are important measurements, "but I would have to say body composition is a better measure overall because being healthy is not just about getting to a number on the scale," he says. For instance, "higher muscle mass and less visceral fat is scientifically proven to lower your risk of heart disease, diabetes, and even some forms of cancer," he explains. What's more, "since muscle has more density than fat, the number on the scale might not give you the total picture of your progress anyway," he adds.

It's also worth noting that body recomposition helps one manage weight in other ways, too, as many fitness practices boost the number of calories one burns throughout the day.

While there are multiple strategies for body recomposition, one thing to remember is that it's more of a lifestyle than a diet. "It's about combining cardiovascular training with weight training or resistance training exercise," advises Bracamonte; "and making sure you include a balanced diet with an adequate amount of protein."

Indeed, increasing one's protein intake alongside specialized resistance training is paramount - though optimal results often require the help of a professional. "Working with a registered dietitian can help with tailoring diet recommendations to fit individual goals," says Madziar.

A professional can also help one measure body circumference, present muscle mass and the areas of the body where individual visceral fat may need to be targeted. From there, corresponding diet and exercise recommendations can be made and followed up on by a professional.

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