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14 Arbor Age / January/February 2014 www.arborage.com A rborists may benefi t from maintaining a healthy body fat percentage not only because of the health effects, but also because a long day of working in the trees can be less stressful if our strength to bodyweight ratio is more favorable. A great way to determine whether your weight is at a healthy level is to have your bodyfat percentage calculated by a certifi ed health/fi tness professional. A common method health/fi tness professionals use is to measure skin-fold thickness at specifi c sites on the body, and, using these measurements, total body fat percentage can be calculated. Most Americans have an issue with having too much fat and, although arborists are more physically active than the average American, our industry has its fair share of professionals carrying extra pounds. If our body fat percentage is too high, it can impede our overall effi ciency when working in the trees, can cause us to become fatigued earlier in the work day and increase the chance for injuries/accidents, and can reduce our abilities to self-rescue. Men should be between 5- 13% body fat and women should be between 12-22% body fat for optimal performance and for maintaining health. Weight loss should be dictated by nothing more than body composition, and you can usually get your body composition measured at any local gym or YMCA. If you are above the recommended range, then you can determine your ideal body weight by doing a few simple calculations: • Total Body Fat (TBF) = body weight x % body fat/100 • Fat Free Body Weight (FFW) = body weight – total body fat • Ideal Fraction (IF) = (100 – ideal body fat %)/100 • Ideal Body Weight (IBW) = fat free body weight/ideal fraction If Sheila, with a current body weight of 150 pounds and body composition of 25% fat, wanted 20% body fat as her goal, her ideal body weight would be calculated as follows: • TBF 37.5 = 150 x 25/100 • FFBW 112.5 = 150 – 37.5 • IF .80 = (100 – 20)/100 • IBW 140.6 = 112.5 / .80 Another common way to determine whether or not we are at a healthy weight is body mass index. The body mass index, or BMI, is a calculation that relates height to body weight and allows us to categorize ourselves in one of four categories: underweight, normal, overweight, or obese. BMI is calculated by taking body weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared, Kg/m2. This equation, however, does not distinguish between where the weight is coming from, and whether it is muscle, fat, or bone. With this being said, the BMI formula is not always accurate for athletes or people with low body fat and high muscle mass. For the normal person it can justly serve as an accurate representation of body composition. What category do you fall under? The American College of Sports Medicine lists Underweight as less than 18.5, normal as 18.5- 24.9, overweight as 25.0-29.9, and obese as 30.0 and above. Once a BMI of 30 or above is reached, there is an increased risk of hypertension, high cholesterol levels, cardiovascular disease, and mortality. Try calculating your own BMI, or visit the following website (http://www.eatright.org/bmi/) to see where you stand. Don't worry if your number puts you in the overweight or obese category. Consider it a starting point to become a more healthy individual. The first step to losing that unwanted body fat is educating yourself on the foods that are beneficial and will fuel your body during a weight loss program. HEALTH AND WELLNESS Weight Control and the Arborist ▲ By John Amtmann and Brian Schwarzkoph Health/fi tness professionals measure skin-fold thickness at specifi c sites on the body, and, using these measurements, total body fat percentage can be calculated. Photo by John Amtmann