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Sports & Fitness vocabulary · Sports Science & Performance

Body composition

Meaning in sports & fitness, with examples

/ˈbɑdi ˌkɑmpəˈzɪʃən/nounCommon term

In sports & fitness, body composition means: The proportions of fat, muscle, bone and water that make up the body, often expressed as body fat percentage and lean mass.

In Turkish: vücut kompozisyonu, vücut bileşimi

How it is used

Used in sports science, nutrition and gyms. It is measured with skinfold callipers, bioelectrical impedance (BIA) scales or DEXA scans. Coaches look at changes in body composition rather than body weight alone.

Example sentences

  1. We test body composition at the start and end of pre-season.

  2. Her weight hasn't changed, but her body composition has improved.

Common collocations

  • body composition test
  • body composition analysis
  • improve body composition
  • body fat percentage
  • calorie deficitA state in which you take in fewer calories from food and drink than your body uses, which leads to weight loss over time.
  • muscleA soft body tissue that can contract and relax to move parts of the body; skeletal muscles are attached to bones by tendons.
  • bulk upTo gain body weight and muscle size on purpose, usually by eating more calories than you burn while doing heavy strength training.
  • macrosShort for macronutrients: protein, carbohydrate and fat, the nutrients the body needs in large amounts and that provide energy.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Sports Science & Performance

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