The bmi numbers are way too general to be really useful says tammy callahan marketing manager of life measurement inc which. There are many different methods for measuring body fat but some are more accurate than others. How to measure your body fat. Hydrostatic weighing and other high tech machines are expensive and almost impossible for a layperson to access. But others feel that body fat percentage is really the way to go. In addition explore many other calculators addressing finance math health and fitness.
There are several techniques you could use to measure body fat. Dexa dxa scan bod pod test underwater weighing calipers and bathroom scales. Chest abdomen and thigh regions are used to measure body fat in men. Skinfold measurements have been used to estimate body fat for over 50 years skinfold calipers measure the thickness of your subcutaneous fat the fat underneath the skin at certain body. The body fat measurement chart gives an analysis of the patients health. I recently measured a womans body fat because she didnt like the number her personal trainer had given her.
A body fat measurement can be a useful part of your fat fighting toolbox but it shouldnt be the only one you use. Body composition testing or body fat testing measures the amount of body fat and fat free mass also referred to as lean tissue muscle mass body water bone and organs in the body. The body fat measurement chart has a complete list of the height and weight of both genders along with the ideal average weight. The widely used body mass index bmi provides a measure that allows the comparison of the adiposity of individuals of different heights and weights. Heres how body fat is measured and the best ways to use that number. The body fat percentage is a measure of fitness level since it is the only body measurement which directly calculates a persons relative body composition without regard to height or weight.
A bod pod is a machine that calculates a persons body density. It displays a number of results including the fat loss required to reach ideal body fat percentage. There are also hand held devices and scales which measure body fat but these are often inaccurate. This free body fat calculator estimates body fat percentage based on the us. Navy method as well as the bmi method. A basic way to measure body fat percentage is by using a soft tape measure like the kind youd use for sewing to record measurements of different parts of the body.
The following body fat measurement tools require special machinery and provide much more accurate results.