Compose yourself: Measuring body fat is fine, but nothing to obsess over.

Byline: Richard Seven

SEATTLE _ I was still a good 10 feet from Dr. David Parker, a physiologist and executive director of the Washington Institute of Sports Medicine & Health in Kirkland, Wash., when he called out my body-fat percentage instead of saying hello. He nailed it.

Nice parlor trick, I told him.

"No trick," he replied, "I've just measured thousands of people."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says most of us are overweight. The American Cancer Society released a study that states excess weight may contribute to 20 percent of all cancer deaths in women and 14 percent in men. Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine issued a report this year tying obesity to shorter life expectancy, especially in young adults.

In the eyes of fitness and health professionals, …