How to Calculate Your Body Fat

If you're interested in becoming healthier, it is very important to calculate your body fat. Simply losing a few pounds does not give an accurate depiction of body composition. This is because when you lose weight, it is mostly water. Fat is not composed of water, and so you are likely losing more muscle mass than fat. There are several methods to calculate your body fat. This article will discuss the most common methods that you can do yourself at home.

Things You'll Need

• body fat monitor/body fat scale
• -OR-
• measuring tape & scale
• body fat calipers

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Instructions

• 1

  The first method, and the most accurate home method to calculate body fat is to use a body fat monitor, also known as a body fat scale. A body fat monitor uses Bio-electrical Impedance Analysis (BIA) technology. It does this by sending a low, safe electrical current through the finger tips or toes of the individual and measures the opposition to the flow of the current which determines total body water (TBW). Once TBW is established, the monitor can calculate your body fat with a mathematical equation. There is very little margin of error with a body fat scale.

• 2

  Another method for calculating body fat, and probably the most popular, is using body fat calipers which are used to pinch the skinfolds of various parts of the body. Generally, you pinch the tricep, the distal area behind the knee, the stomach, and a proximal, diagonal fold over the shoulder blade. The body fat calipers then measure the amount of subcutaneous fat (fat that is under the skin) you have. All the measurements are then plugged into an equation. The problem is that there are hundreds of equations, each yielding different results. If you use this method, use the number as a baseline only and do not compare it with others' body fat percentage.

• 3

  The last, and most inefficient, method to calculate body fat is to take measurements of various parts of the body with a measuring tape and then plugging them into an equation along with your weight. Unfortunately, there are several body fat calculators and each uses a different equation. Also, this method is poor because there is no way the measuring tape can distinguish between muscle and fat. Use this method only as a way of noting a difference in inches, not actual body fat change.