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How to Calculate Body Fat Without Calipers

When trying to lose or gain weight, your body weight alone isn't an accurate indicator. There are several sources of weight, but not all of them are bad. Excessive fatty deposits are the bad kind of weight. Lean muscle mass is a good kind of weight. You can tell the difference by calculating your percent body fat. Although the usual method is to use calipers to measure skin folds, you can also use a cloth tape measure. Because men and women are so different, measuring percent body fat will also differ between genders.

Things You'll Need

  • Cloth tape measure
  • Weight scale
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Instructions

  1. Measurement for Men

    • 1

      Measure your body weight in pounds and your waist circumference in inches at the belly button.

    • 2

      Multiply your body weight by 1.082 and add 94.42. As an example, a 200-lb. man would have a measurement of 310.82.

    • 3

      Multiply your waist size by 4.15 and subtract it from the previous calculation. This will represent your lean body weight, that is, your weight minus any fat. To continue the example, if the man's waist size is 38 inches, then his lean body weight would be 153.12.

    • 4

      Subtract this figure from your total body weight, and divide it by your total body weight. Multiply this figure by 100 to get your percent body fat. In the example, the percent body fat would be 23.44 percent.

    Measurement for Women

    • 5

      Measure your body weight in pounds. Measure the circumference of your wrist, hips and forearm at their widest points. Also, measure your waist circumference at the belly button. These circumferences should be measured in inches.

    • 6

      Use the following formula to calculate lean body weight:

      Lean Body Weight = (Forearm x 0.434) + (Weight x 0.732) + 8.987 + (Wrist / 3.14) - (Waist x 0.157) - (Hips x 0.249)

      As an example, the lean body weight of a 130-lb. woman who has forearm, wrist, waist and hips measuring 10 inches, 6 inches, 25 inches and 38 inches, respectively, would be calculated as:

      Lean Body Weight = (10 x 0.434) + (130 x 0.732) + 8.987 + (6 / 3.14) - (25 x 0.157) - (38 x 0.249)

      Lean Body Weight = 4.34 + 95.16 + 8.987 + 1.91 - 3.925 - 9.462

      Lean Body Weight = 97.01

    • 7

      Subtract this figure from your total body weight, and divide it by your total body weight. Multiply this figure by 100 to get your percent body fat. In the example, the percent body fat would be 25.38 percent.

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