Modern Assessment of Body Composition and the Obesity Epidemic INTRODUCTION According to the American College of Sports Medicine, “approximately 70% of the U.S. population are classified as either overweight or obese (BMI ≥25 kg/m -2 ), with approximately 40% classified as obese (BMI ≥30kg/m -2 ), including 7% with severe obesity (BMI ≥40kg/m -2 )” (Liguori & American College of Sports Medicine, 2020, p. 296). Additionally, some statistics report up to 32% of children and adolescents are overweight or obese, with roughly 18% of children aged 6-11 yo, and roughly 21% of adolescents aged 12-19 yo being categorized as obese. Categories of BMI include: Underweight: <18.5 kg/m -2 Normal: 18.5-24.9 kg/m -2 Overweight: 25.0-29.9 kg/m -2 ...