Measuring Body Fat is important for determining fitness.

Weight alone is not a clear indicator of good health because it does not distinguish between pounds that come from body fat and those that come from lean body mass or muscle. Carrying too much fat is a condition called obesity, and puts a person at risk for many serious medical conditions including heart disease, diabetes and even certain forms of cancer. In fact, obesity contributes to at least half the chronic diseases in western society.

Even when a person's weight-control system has genetic flaws and one of the new diet drugs is prescribed, proper nutrition and plenty of exercise is still part of the prescription for health.  Exercise plays an increasingly important role in weight management and overall fitness for people of all ages. The revised Dietary Guidelines for Americans emphasizes the importance of physical activity for

both weight control and health. Weight maintenance rather than weight loss should be the primary focus. 
The Guidelines encourage people to increase physical activity and reduce sedentary activity in order to maintain or lose weight, recommending a minimum of 30 minutes of moderate to intense physical exercise every day. They also recognize the link between weight gain and health risks (i.e. premature death) for adults. And they acknowledge that the distribution of fat in the body affects the risks associated with obesity, identifying exercise as one of the few factors that reduces central body fat. 
Planning an exercise program should be based on personal goals as well as on individual capabilities. The most important element is to think long-term and make exercise a permanent part of your life.

Diet and Exercise Tips for: Martial Artists at Fitness Enthusiasts

Eating Healthy  for 365 Days
 For most people, maintaining a desirable weight and body fat percentage can only be achieved through an integrated program of nutrition and exercise--or balancing energy intake with energy expenditure. To reduce weight and body fat requires cutting back on calories and increasing the amount of exercise. Dieting alone won't work.

Why Measure Body Fat?

Page 2

Athletic Profiler / Body Composition

“To be healthy  we must strive to increase our knowledge of our bodies and how they work”
HMAA Strength  & Conditioning 2007