Many athletes measure their body composition to maintain their ideal body makeup for their sport (and every athlete is different), which can impact their performance and health. Typically, losing body fat while maintaining or increasing lean mass (which includes muscle, bone, and water makeup) is favorable for many athletes. However, since muscle is denser than fat, more muscle gained means a higher weight and a higher BMI, often putting athletes in the ‘overweight’ or sometimes ‘obese’ category, which is often why BMI is inaccurate.
If Maher has 85% lean mass, she has about 15% body fat, which is reportedly normal for female athletes (14-20% body fat). Comparatively, an average woman non-athlete might have 25-31% body fat.
This article was originally published by Buzzfeed.com. Read the original article here.