Body Fat% & BMI Calculation

BMI - Body Mass Index

Body Mass Index is calculated using your weight and height to give you your BMI number. This number is used to group you in one of five categories, listed below.

This is useful as a rough starting point, but just as with the Height/weight chart the numbers can be meaning less if you have an athletic build, have a thicker frame.. etc. Again check with your Family/medical physician if you don't know your build type.

To illustrate the the main problem with the BMI measurement look at the following example:

Two men, both 5'8" tall and weighting 185 LBS.
The first man has a body fat percentage of 27 and the second man is at 10 percent body fat. Even thought the second man has significantly more fat then the first. They both have the exact same BMI number - 28 and are both considered Overweight.

Body Fat Percentage

There are 3 main ways to measure your Body Fat percentage.

Digital Fat Scale or (Bioelectric Impedance) - The digital body fat scale is one of my key weight loss weapons. You simply step on the scale and an electrical current is sent through your body at a very low voltage. The onboard computer gathers the readings and displays your percent of body fat in a matter of seconds. Although considered to be not as accurate as the underwater weighting method, I beleive that it's convenience and relatively low cost far out way any accuratcy issues they may have.

Caliper Skinfold Method - This is performed usually at a Gym or a Doctors office by measuring specific areas of your body with special skinfold calipers. 3 - 7 specific locations are measured. An equation is performed (depending on the number of locations measured) to obtain your body fat percentage. This is only as accurate as the person performing the test.

Underwater Test - (Hydrostatic body fat test) This method is considered the "Gold Standard" is obtaining an accurate body fat%. These are almost exclusively done at Health clubs and Weight loss clinics. You are dunked in a tank and the amount of water displaced is measured. Muscle and bone are more dense than water so a person with a low body fat percentage will displace more water than someone with a higher fat percentage.

What's your %

So just what do the medical experts condisider a health body fat percentage to be? Here is the list from the American Council on Exercise.