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Why is body composition an essential measure of health and fitness?

  1. It evaluates the strength of muscles

  2. It indicates overall diet quality

  3. It reveals an individual's fat to muscle ratio

  4. It provides information about flexibility

The correct answer is: It reveals an individual's fat to muscle ratio

Body composition is an essential measure of health and fitness because it reveals an individual's fat to muscle ratio. Understanding this ratio is crucial for several reasons. A healthy body composition typically includes a higher proportion of lean mass (muscle) relative to body fat, which is associated with better metabolic health, functional fitness, and overall well-being. This ratio helps reinforce the importance of engaging in regular physical activity and strength training to improve or maintain muscle mass, which in turn affects metabolism and the risk of various health issues, such as obesity, cardiovascular diseases, and type 2 diabetes. The other options touch upon aspects of health and fitness but do not directly address the significance of body composition. Evaluating muscle strength or flexibility focuses on different physical fitness components and does not provide a holistic view of a person's health in terms of body fat and muscle balance. Similarly, while diet quality is important for overall health, it is not a direct measurement associated with body composition itself.