6 13 percent essential fat levels. A basic way to measure body fat percentage is by using a soft tape measure like the kind youd use for. If you dont have a pro at your disposal grab a friend and learn how to measure each others body fat together using this article as your guide. The body fat calculator can be used to estimate your total body fat based on specific measurements. 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.
For the general population i recommend the jackson and pollock formula. Determine your body fat percentage with our body fat calculator. Measuring the circumference of certain body parts is a simple method of body fat estimation. Use a tape measure to determine your waist wrist hip and forearm circumference. For example the us army uses a body fat calculation that simply requires an individuals age height. Using skinfold calipers is the most common way to measure your body fat mass.
Lean body mass men weight 1082 9442 waist 415. Lean body mass women weight 0732 8987 wrist 3140 waist 0157 hip 0249 forearm 0434. To get the best results measure to the nearest 14 inch 05 cm. Use the metric units tab if you are more comfortable with the international system of units si. Less than 2 5 percent. The skinfold caliper is a device which measures the thickness of a fold of your skin with its underlying layer of fat.
Some experts tout bmi or body mass index as the most accurate way to determine the effect of weight on your health. Then input your gender and measurements below to receive a body fat index based on average values. If you are interested how it works here are the formulas we use. Body fat weight weight lean body mass. The body fat index is not an indicator of fitness level since the calculation is made with no regard to height or weight. In fact most recent medical research uses bmi as an indicator of someones.
6 ways to measure body fat percentage 1. A skin fold test is done using a tool called calipers to pinch different areas of your body and measure. This formula can be utilized in three site four site and seven site tests. 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.