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Percentage of Body Fat Vs. Body Mass Index

Your percentage of body fat is an indicator of your risk for obesity-related diseases. Your body mass index (BMI) is an indicator of your total body fat. (See Reference 1)

  1. Measuring Body Fat

    • The most accurate ways to measure body fat are a dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scan and getting weighed while underwater. Each of these methods is expensive. Alternately, body fat can be measured using calipers to measure skin folds. You can purchase calipers for home use, but for best accuracy this method of measurement requires a trained professional. (See Reference 2)

    Calculating BMI

    • To calculate your BMI, divide your weight in pounds by your height in inches squared, then multiply the result by 703 (a conversion factor). Many health websites have online tools that automatically calculate your BMI. (See Reference 3)

    Measuring Up

    • The normal range of body fat for males is 10 to 20 percent. The normal range of body fat for females is 15 to 25 percent. Body fat over 30 percent usually indicates obesity. (See Reference 2)

    Considerations

    • BMI may overestimate the amount of body fat in athletes, who typically have a greater amount of lean muscle mass than the general population. Also, the correlation of BMI with body fat percentage can vary depending on sex, age and race. (See Reference 2)

    Recent Research

    • A study conducted by Manfred J Müller of Institut für Humanernährung und Lebensmittelkunde suggests that 25 to 30 percent of the obese population is not at risk for obesity-related disease. Müller proposes that a more accurate indicator of dangerous body fat is body composition analysis, a method that uses both an MRI and a DEXA scan.

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