Hi-Tech Aqua Tank Gauges Fat/Muscle
Hi-Tech Aqua Tank Gauges Fat/Muscle
June 3, 2008
Time was, people stepped on a scale and the results came pretty straightforward -- overweight, underweight, somewhere in the middle.
But today the best measure of fitness isn't a land-locked meat scale, it's one suspended in water - linked to a computer and calculating weight up to 150 times per second.
And Rowan University's got one.
"Underwater weighing is the most accurate," explained Dr. Edward Chaloupka, professor of health and exercise science in the College of Education. "The basic idea is that muscle is dense and sinks in water while fat floats. We weigh a person on land and then weigh them in water, put some variables into the computer and it determines body composition."
Based on the theory of buoyancy first floated by Greek mathematician Archimedes around 200 BC, the hydrostatic submersion tank in Education Hall is one of half a dozen tools instructors in Health and Exercise Science have at their disposal to determine body composition.
Students in the program, most of who pursue careers as athletic trainers, in fitness management or in physical education, also use bioelectric impedance machines, infrared analysis units and traditional skin-caliper tests to gauge body fat.
Chaloupka, who is also Director of the Health and Exercise Science Research Lab at Rowan, said the main benefit of determining body composition - the percentage of fat versus the percentage of lean mass – is one can use that information to structure an optimal diet and exercise program.
Maintaining a healthy weight and body composition is essential to warding off metabolic syndrome, a condition that includes heart disease, high blood pressure and Type II diabetes, Chaloupka said.
“The test can help in setting goals,” he said. “If people were to get weighed they could use the information to determine the best course of action to reach their ideal weight and body composition.”
Chaloupka said the submersion test takes about ten minutes. Subjects change from street clothes to a bathing suit and step into the tank. The tank, which is only about three feet deep, has a chair connected to three electronic scales. Once seated, the subject blows as much air as possible from his lungs and leans forward so his head is submerged while the scale calculates his weight.
Better than BMI
Chaloupka said discerning body composition is a far more specific and individual test than determining one’s Body Mass Index, a commonly used metric that is simply a ratio of height and weight.
“BMI is a quick reference point used to screen large numbers of people but it’s not very exact,” he said.
For example, a man who is 6 foot 3 inches tall and weighs 230 pounds could have a BMI that suggests borderline obesity even if he exercises regularly and is in good physical shape.
Lori Saiia, a senior in the Health and Exercise Science program and a certified personal trainer, said a bodybuilder friend of hers was actually rejected for life insurance because his BMI was too high.
“One of the problems is people get caught up in a number,” Saiia said. “They do the same thing with a scale but it doesn’t give a true picture.”
Saiia, who used the submersion scale in a class with Chaloupka, described hydrostatic weighing as “the gold standard” for determining body composition.
“It was fun but there was a learning curve,” she said. “You had to breathe out as much air as you can and it took a couple of times to get it right.”
While the tank has been used primarily as a teaching tool until now, it will soon be made available to students, faculty and staff, Rec Center members, and the general public.
Chaloupka said members of the U.S. Marshal's Service in Newark have even expressed interest in using the tank to help design workouts for deputies but training with the tank has not yet begun.
"The idea is to not just use it for students and research but for the community," Chaloupka said.
But today the best measure of fitness isn't a land-locked meat scale, it's one suspended in water - linked to a computer and calculating weight up to 150 times per second.
And Rowan University's got one.
"Underwater weighing is the most accurate," explained Dr. Edward Chaloupka, professor of health and exercise science in the College of Education. "The basic idea is that muscle is dense and sinks in water while fat floats. We weigh a person on land and then weigh them in water, put some variables into the computer and it determines body composition."
Based on the theory of buoyancy first floated by Greek mathematician Archimedes around 200 BC, the hydrostatic submersion tank in Education Hall is one of half a dozen tools instructors in Health and Exercise Science have at their disposal to determine body composition.
Students in the program, most of who pursue careers as athletic trainers, in fitness management or in physical education, also use bioelectric impedance machines, infrared analysis units and traditional skin-caliper tests to gauge body fat.
Chaloupka, who is also Director of the Health and Exercise Science Research Lab at Rowan, said the main benefit of determining body composition - the percentage of fat versus the percentage of lean mass – is one can use that information to structure an optimal diet and exercise program.
Maintaining a healthy weight and body composition is essential to warding off metabolic syndrome, a condition that includes heart disease, high blood pressure and Type II diabetes, Chaloupka said.
“The test can help in setting goals,” he said. “If people were to get weighed they could use the information to determine the best course of action to reach their ideal weight and body composition.”
Chaloupka said the submersion test takes about ten minutes. Subjects change from street clothes to a bathing suit and step into the tank. The tank, which is only about three feet deep, has a chair connected to three electronic scales. Once seated, the subject blows as much air as possible from his lungs and leans forward so his head is submerged while the scale calculates his weight.
Better than BMI
Chaloupka said discerning body composition is a far more specific and individual test than determining one’s Body Mass Index, a commonly used metric that is simply a ratio of height and weight.
“BMI is a quick reference point used to screen large numbers of people but it’s not very exact,” he said.
For example, a man who is 6 foot 3 inches tall and weighs 230 pounds could have a BMI that suggests borderline obesity even if he exercises regularly and is in good physical shape.
Lori Saiia, a senior in the Health and Exercise Science program and a certified personal trainer, said a bodybuilder friend of hers was actually rejected for life insurance because his BMI was too high.
“One of the problems is people get caught up in a number,” Saiia said. “They do the same thing with a scale but it doesn’t give a true picture.”
Saiia, who used the submersion scale in a class with Chaloupka, described hydrostatic weighing as “the gold standard” for determining body composition.
“It was fun but there was a learning curve,” she said. “You had to breathe out as much air as you can and it took a couple of times to get it right.”
While the tank has been used primarily as a teaching tool until now, it will soon be made available to students, faculty and staff, Rec Center members, and the general public.
Chaloupka said members of the U.S. Marshal's Service in Newark have even expressed interest in using the tank to help design workouts for deputies but training with the tank has not yet begun.
"The idea is to not just use it for students and research but for the community," Chaloupka said.