8 therefore measuring the thickness of your folds of skin is a fairly accurate method to calculate body fat percentage. According to the american council on exercise approximately 50 of your body fat lies under the skin. Skinfold calipers measure the thickness of your subcutaneous fat the fat underneath the skin at certain body locations. The skinfold caliper is a device which measures the thickness of a fold of your skin with its underlying layer of fat. With these simple devices which are similar to measuring tapes with clamps skin folds are measured on three or more parts of the body most commonly the abdomen upper arm and thigh. Calipers are a pinch an inch way to measure body fat.
Using skinfold calipers is the most common way to measure your body fat mass. No electrical current is involved. Such scales work with the help of sensors underneath. For example if your waist is 30 your hips are. You simply step on the scale and the tool measures both your body weight and your estimated fat percentage. By doing this at the key locations can be a quite accurate representative of the total amount of fat that is on your body it is also possible to estimate the total percent of bodyfat on your body.
Body fat scales are easy to use. Measurements are taken at either 3 or 7 different sites on the body. To calculate body fat percentage add your waist and hip measurements and then subtract the neck measurement to determine your circumference value.