Calculate body fat percentage: tools and equipment to use

1. The percentage of body fat is the amount of body fat to everything else (muscles, bones, organs, tendons, water – everything). It’s pretty hard to calculate. Fortunately for you, thanks to this article you can calculate body fat percentage and what tools and equipment to use.

A healthy, slim and toned body – this is what will always be in fashion. A lot of people are trying to get rid of excess body fat. But at the same time not everyone knows what the rate of body fat is, and how to determine it, and in fact, much depends on this indicator. Let’s try to understand this issue.

Body fat value for an organism

A chance to meet the situation, when two people, having the same body weight, look different from each other.

Quite often there is a situation when two people who have the same weight: they look completely different. One is slim and toned, and the other at the same time looks, to put it mildly, not too perfect. The fact is that weight is not, in principle, an indicator that you should focus on in assessing your physical fitness. Muscles are much heavier than fat, hence the difference in appearance with the same figure on the scales.

Of key importance is how the body combines bone and muscle mass, as well as water and fat. Then, what should be the percentage of body fat in the body, you need to know not only the hyde but also those who, in principle, monitor their health. Not only excess fat is dangerous, but also its disadvantage, since y of fat is quite a lot of important functions, in particular, protective and reserve. A low percentage of body fat provokes potency problems in men and menstrual cycle problems for women.

In this way, fat has the following features:

• protects the body’s organs;
• helps to maintain normal temperature;
• assists in maintaining organ substances in the body;
• softens the joints;
• helps the accumulation of energy.

To maintain health and lead a full life, a woman needs 13–15 per cent of body fat, and no less than 5–9% in the world. If this indicator is lower, then serious violations in the execution of their functions and the consequences of this are possible. If the fat percentage in the body is in the norm, the person will go and feel and look good, and his reproductive organs will work as they should.

Especially important is fat for the female body. It helps to ensure the normal synthesis of female hormones, promotes the proper function of the proliferative organs, provides a normal menstrual cycle, gives the ability to find and multiply and grow. The amount of fat can increase with age. Excess is due to certain abuses, but quite often this is due to lack of physical activity and constant overeating.

Calculate body fat percentage at home

1. Determine your body mass index (BMI). BMI is a value that is based on your weight and height. The easiest way to calculate BMI is an online calculator. You can simply enter into the search engine the phrase “calculation of body mass index.” You will be asked to enter your weight and height into the calculator.
   
   If you want to do the calculation yourself, you can do it! If you use the metric system, the equation will be as follows: weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared. For example, if your height is 175 cm (or 1.75 meters) and you weigh 78 kilograms, your BMI will be 25.5.
2. Find your percentage of fat with a BMI. The following equation is used for this: (1.20 x BMI) + (0.23 x your age) – (10.8 x your gender) – 5.4. If you are a man, substitute the number 1. If a woman is 0.
   For example, if your BMI is 25.5 and you are 30 years old, your equation will be: (1.2 x 25.5) + (0.23 x 30) – (10.8 x 1) -5.4. This equals 30.6 + 6.9 – 10.8 – 5.4 = 42.9.
3. Calculate your biometric impedance. Adipose tissue does not conduct electricity. By calculating the biometric impedance, you calculate your adipose tissue in relation to other tissues in the body. This method does not require specialised personnel, and the necessary equipment for this is not so expensive. You must become barefoot on a metal plate that sends an electrical current through your body. When the experiment is carried out correctly, and the subject followed certain limitations, bioimpedancemetry has a tolerance of 3 per cent. Scales that can measure biometric impedance are available for home use and can be purchased online or from a fitness store.
   -Before The test, the subjects should not eat and drink 4 hours before the test, do not perform a physical exercise for 12 hours, do not take alcohol for 2 days, do not take diuretic drugs.
   -This method can be performed at fitness clubs, health fairs and schools for free or for a small fee.
4.  Measure yourself with a measuring tape. This is not the most accurate way, but with it, you can find out the approximate value of the percentage of fat. The most traditional method is the method used by the US Navy.
   -Measure height without shoes.
   -Measure the waist volume horizontally.
   -Measure neck circumference
   –For women only: measure the number of hips at the widest point horizontally.
   -Substitute the measurements in one of the formulas below, or use an online calculator, round the answer to the nearest per cent.
   Male measurements in inches:
   % fat = 86.010 * LOG (belly-neck) – 70.041 * LOG (height) + 36.76
   Measurements for women in inches:
   % fat = 163.205 * LOG (belly + thighs – neck) – 97.684 * LOG (height) – 78.387
   (LOG denotes the decimal logarithm, LOG10, and not the logarithm with the base e or LN. LOG (100) = 2.)
   

Find out your percentage of fat with a calliper. It is necessary to pull the fat from the muscles and clamp it with a calliper. Then make measurements and compare them with the scale on the calliper. A properly executed test has a 3 per cent error. The error may be greater for very thin and obese people. This test can be performed at school, fitness club, health programs, in hospitals and laboratories. It is inexpensive, and often completely free.

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Calculate body fat percentage in a specialised institution

Visit the facility for underwater weighing.

Underwater weighing is the most accurate way to determine the percentage of fat and calculate the displacement created by your body. The error is 1.5 per cent, provided that the test is performed strictly according to the instructions. To find the nearest institution, use your favourite search engine and enter the phrase “underwater weighing institution in [the name of your city]”.
-Know that the weighed must be able to blow all the air out of the lungs. This is doable only in research institutions and specialised facilities and can be quite expensive if you are not a participant in the study.

▼Click on “+” for more information.▼

Do your research with an infrared spectrometer

This method uses a fibre optic probe (or a light absorption instrument) to calculate body composition by calculating the composition (fat and water level) of different parts of the body. It has an error of more than 4 per cent, and an even greater error if the subject is unusually thin or full. It can be spent on the minimum payment in some fitness clubs and the centres of weight loss.

Visit the institutions with the Bod Pod

The Bod Pod measures body composition by measuring air displacement. This method has an accuracy of 3 per cent. It is available only in several research laboratories and professional athletic institutions. It is a good method for measuring the body composition of children, the elderly and obese people and people with disabilities.

Visit the facility that has a two-photon x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scanner.

Visit the facility that has a two-photon x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scanner. DEXA is a very accurate method for measuring body composition. He uses a combination of two X-rays to calculate body composition. It is available only in research institutions, often free for people participating in research in these institutions.

Body fat rate

You can not name the exact figure, which would determine the number of fat in the body. But there is a range within which each person can have its own value. This is determined by the many features of the body. In one person, the fat percentage may be higher than that of the other person, which has the same sex and height, but it can be much better.

The amount of fat in an organisation should not exceed the upper plank. However, one must also pay attention to the lower plank, as the shortage of fat in the body is fraught with serious consequences.
Fat percentage rate in a woman’s body should be within the following limits:

• age up to 3 years – 15-23%;
• age 3o-5o years – 19-25%;
• Age from 5 to 2–27%.

For my men, the percentage of body fat in an organism looks like this:

• age up to 3 years – 11-18%;
• age 3o-5o years – 14-2o%;
• age from 5 years – 16-22%.

When the content of fat is more than 32%, it makes sense to talk about obesity. With age, this norm is magnified, as in the organisation there are various changes, and the activity of the person becomes lower.

In women with normal body fat is in the area of the face, hips, waist and hips. If it accumulates on the arms, shoulders, legs, of the superimposed area, it can be a sign of sticking to swelling, the breakdown of metabolism, hormonal malfunctions, so there is a sense of consistency, it will make sense to break.

Important indicators of fat for men. They determine the work of many important systems, in particular, reproductive and digestive systems. However, it is easier for men to lower the percentage of fat since lipid metabolism is faster than women. Men fat equally distributed by the body. If a representative of a strong deprivation region accumulates in the region of the living, this is the case with the diversion of the gastrointestinal tract. If they go to the side, hips, thighs, this indicates the wrong diet, as well as hormonal imbalance – an increase in the organisation of the level of women’s hormones.

The table below will show more thoroughly what should be the norm of the percentage of fat in the body of women and men.

In the human body, two types of fat are accumulated: transient (visible) and visceral (internal) fat. Grease fat is located near the top of the skin; it can be seen and felt.

Now about visceral fat. Organs and provinces of the organisation are covered with a kind of film, which performs a number of important functions. Visceral fat is located inside this sheath and covers the organs. It can not be seen with the unaided eye, but it can be determined by the impaired proportions of the body. In humans, the visceral fat norm in the body of which is exceeded is strongly protruding ahead. With this, other parts of the body can in no way speak about the presence of excess fat, and the figure, thus, is viewed irrationally.

Visceral fat is indispensable for the body. It covers the internal bodies, protecting them from external effects and injuries, acts as a reserve for the body. But an excess of it can be dangerous. Most often, the same nutritional and physical disabilities result in the same, although the problem may be deeper and may lead to a violation of the work of various functions of the organisation.

If you talk about what the percentage of visceral fat should be in women and men, then you need to say that the amount of it should not exceed 15% of the total amount of fat in the body is independent of sex.

Excessive visceral fat is fraught with serious consequences, such as varicose veins, disturbances of metabolism and hormonal background, as well as problems with the heart and subdomains and diabetes. Fat in the liver is processed and transformed into cholesterol, which goes to blood vessels and is deposited on their walls. This is fraught with atherosclerosis.

In health centres and clinics, it is easy to measure the percentage of fat in the body, using modern equipment and methods. MRT is quite accurate regarding this, X-ray scanning, water weighting, and bioimpedance is a special device that transmits fat through pulses of weak current and speed of penetration. Approximately also special scales, which can be bought or found in many fitness clubs.

However, you can try to determine the percentage of fat yourself. You can find out about the presence of unnecessary departures simply by looking in the mirror and seeing the areas that require work. On the other hand, it is possible to determine whether you are underweight or improved. However, these methods can not give accurate results. In order to obtain accurate figures, you can use a special device under the name calliper, which is sold in pharmacies. Calliper makes it possible to measure the thickness of body folds in different areas. For conducting measurements, you need an assistant. Operates on the calliper principle. The trouble with him usually does not arise. Measurements should be carried out in such points:

• Triceps – the back between the shoulder and elbow. The vertical fold is measured at the centre.
• Biceps. The same fold, but from the front of the arm.
• Lugs It is necessary to seize the fold of a little lower than one tarpaulin from the diaphragm in the direction down to the side of the trunk with a 45-degree angle.
• The area below the waist and above the protrusion of the pelvis with a small angle. The received data is recorded in millimetres on the calliper scale. Then the four values are added up, and the percentage of fat is found in the table.

If you decide that your indicators are not perfect, be careful. Trying to reach an athletic figure, do not go beyond the limits of the physiological norm. Besides, consider that each person is different, and the “healthy” norm is different. For example, if a girl decides to reduce the amount of fat in the body from 18% to 13%, then she can get a violation of the menstrual cycle. The indicator will correspond to the norm, but here the individual peculiarities of the organisation will already play a role. Therefore, working to reduce fat in the body, watch your feelings. If you feel unpleasant symptoms, it is worth stopping to lose weight and check with a specialist. And remember that in ordinary life there is no point in trying to obtain extreme indicators. And then normalize fat levels – that’s pretty.

If the norm of fat in the body of a woman or a man is exceeded, then you need to look at your lifestyle. Most often, it is sufficient to normalise life expectancy, to revise rationally and to do more sports. From the physical activity, first of all, it is necessary to focus on cardiovascular exercise, since it is fat that they burn fat. Running, swimming, jumping, exercise bike or bike riding – you can choose everything that is right.

Also very important is proper nutrition. Avoid hard diets, because at the expense of them, not fat, but muscles and fluid are gone. Eat fully, balanced, moderately. It is recommended to eat frequently and in small portions, to exclude fast food, sweet, pastries. Healthy products for fat reduction are low-fat sources of protein (meat, fish, eggs, dairy products), cereals, fruits and vegetables. It is also necessary to drink sufficient water.

Knowing how much fat to be in the organisation of women and men, you can adequately assess the state of their own organization. Remember, that excess fat is a danger, but you can also say o its shortage. Fat is equally both friend and enemy, and that it was only the first for you, control its percentage in your body.

 Children body fat percentage

Fat content is one of the key indicators of human health, which can be quickly determined using special weights with the function of body composition analysis. In this way, it is easy to maintain the body in perfect condition, control the weight gain of the child and select the most optimal diet.

Feature indications of fat content in children

The number of adipose tissue increases with the number of years lived because it depends on the natural physiological processes occurring in the body under specific conditions of life. In children, as well as in adults, it indicates:

• physical exertion (sufficient / not enough, their presence or absence at all)
• the diet (number of feedings, volume, eaten at one meal);
• calorie foods (suitable or unsuitable types of dishes);
• the level of development of the body (satisfactory/unsatisfactory, with a lag or ahead of the norm);
• according to metabolism age (slow growth of bone and muscle mass on the background of increased body fat).

Any deviations to the side, plus or minus, may indicate an improper diet, negative external factors affecting health and appetite, the presence of internal diseases with a latent course, the onset of serious systemic illnesses. Therefore, analyzer scales help in time to control the situation and take over it, not losing the moment to support the child.

Fat rates in children

Until the age of 16-17 years, metabolic processes pick up speed every year, and then their pace begins to slowly fall, based on the surrounding circumstances, which includes a combination of all factors. Consequently, there should not be extensive accumulations of fat mass. For comparison, we offer tables of the percentage of fat in children aged 10 to 19 years, based on the sex of the child.

For boys, these readings are somewhat different due to the physiological characteristics associated more with height and weight.

How to maintain children normal mass of fat?

Compared with the body of adults, in which the metabolic processes are prone to slowing down, they occur much faster in children, so building up the muscle mass to suppress fatty tissue does not play a key role. During this period, it is much more valuable to keep the right diet, a suitable day regimen and timely medical examinations.