The percentage of body fat is the amount of body fat to everything else. It’s pretty hard to calculate. Thanks to this article you can calculate body fat percentage and with tools and equipment.
A healthy, slim and toned body – this is what will always be in fashion.
Let’s try to understand this issue.
Measure body fat percentage
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.
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.
- 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.
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
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.
- 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.
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.
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.
This method can be performed at fitness clubs, health fairs and schools for free or for a small fee.
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.
Tools and equipment to use
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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]”.
Q: Do your research with an infrared spectrometer
A: 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.
Q: Visit the institutions with the Bod Pod
A: 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.
Q: Visit the facility that has a two-photon x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scanner
A: 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.
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.
- age up to 3 years – 15-23%;
- age 3o-5o years – 19-25%;
- Age from 5 to 2–27%.
- 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
- -Very good up to 11%
- -Good from 11% to 16%
- -Average from 16% to 21%
- -Badly 21% and above
- -Very good up to 12%
- -Good from 12% to 17%
- -Average from 17% to 22%
- -Badly 22% and above
For boys, these readings are somewhat different due to the physiological characteristics associated more with height and weight.
- -Very good up to 16%
- -Good from 16% to 21%
- -Average from 21% to 26%
- -Badly 26% and above
- -Very good up to 17%
- -Good from 17% to 22%
- -Average from 22% to 27%
- -Badly 27% and above
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.
