In your quest for health, a person must put forth an effort to achieve this goal. One of those efforts is to know where you are from a health perspective.
There are five measures, or metrics, of health that I would like to discuss today:
Body water percentage
Muscle Mass
Body Mass Index
Body Fat Percentage
Waist Circumference
1. Body Water Percentage
Body water declines as you age but will remain above 50 percent, generally speaking, for your whole life. The normal range for adult women varies between 45% and 60%. The ideal body water percentage for men fluctuates between 50% and 65% of the total body.
2. Muscle Mass
(The total mass of body muscle - An estimate of the weight of the muscles in the body)
Men
Ages 20-39: 75-89 percent
Ages 40-59: 73-86 percent
ages 60-79: 70-84 percent
Women
Ages 20-39: 63-75.5 percent
Ages 40-59: 62-73.5 percent
ages 60-79: 60-72.5 percent
3. Body Mass Index
(The measure of your weight in relation to your height.)
A BMI of less than 18.5 means a person is underweight.
A BMI of between 18.5 and 24.9 is ideal.
A BMI of between 25 and 29.9 is overweight.
A BMI of 30 or greater indicates obesity.
Obesity Class 1 - BMI 30-34.9
Obesity Class 2 - 35-39.9
Obesity Class 3 - 40 or greater
Normal weights based on an ideal BMI of 19-24
4'10" (58 in) 91–115 lb
4'11" (59 in) 94–119 lb
5' (60 in”) 97–123 lb
5'1" (61 in) 100–127 lb
5'2" (62 in) 104–131 lb
5'3" (63 in) 107–135 lb
5'4" (64 in) 110–140 lb
5'5" (65 in) 114–144 lb
5'6" (66 in) 118–148 lb
5'7" (67 in) 121–153 lb
5'8" (68 in) 125–158 lb
5'9" (69 in) 128–162 lb
5'10" (70 in) 132–167 lb
5'11" (71 in) 136–172 lb
6' (72 in) 140–177 lb
6'1" (73 in) 144–182 lb
6'2" (74 in) 148–186 lb
6' 3" (75 in) 152–192 lb
6'4" (76 in) 156–197 lb
4. Body Fat Percentage
According to the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, there are healthy body fat percentages based on your age.
Men
For those aged 20 to 39, men should have 8% to 19%.
For ages 40 to 59, men should fall around 11% to 21%.
If you’re aged 60 to 79, men should have 13% to 24%.
Women
For those aged 20 to 39, women should aim for 21% to 32% of body fat.
For ages 40 to 59, women should fall between 23% to 33%.
If you’re aged 60 to 79, women should have 24% to 35% body fat.
5. Waist Circumference
A waist circumference greater than or equal to 40 inches for males and greater than or equal to 35 inches for females is considered elevated and this patient would be considered at increased risk for cardiometabolic disease (hypertension, diabetes, chronic renal failure, hyperlipidemia, and cardiovascular disease).
The measure of the waist circumference is made at the level of the top of the iliac crest
https://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/assessing/index.html
Now that you have the information you need to form goals, how are you going to get your numbers? There are some pretty involved research methods that are employed to measure your body composition, however, most of the time those methods are not required.
Medical practitioners will generally rely on BMI, waist circumference, and height/weight measurements. Sometimes they will use skin-fold thickness (requires special calipers).
One easy way to measure various health parameters is to buy a scale that measures all of these numbers for you. For example, here is a scale that you might want to consider.
I always tell people that if they have hypertension, they need to monitor their BP (at home as well as in the clinic). If they have diabetes, they need to monitor their blood sugar (at home as well as in the clinic). If you have asthma, you will need to monitor your breathing strength and health (at home as well as in the clinic). So it stands to reason if you are trying to get healthy, achieve ideal body weight, lose fat, and gain muscle, you will need a way to accurately monitor these parameters.
It will require a bit of investment, but purchasing a good scale is a great motivator as you work toward your goals.