Body Fat %

OLFATUG

I've seen web sites that say to measure certain body parts and plug them in to their formulas to get your body fat %, but I have also heard/seen that these are not entirely accurate. I would like to get an accurate reading using body calipers, and have a few questions:

1) What body calipers would you recommend purchasing, is there a 'best' brand or will the cheap freebies that bodybuilding.com wants to give me every time I get protein powder be good enough?

2) How do I know what a good place to be is in terms of body fat%? BMI seems to pretty much be a "ballpark" figure, but I'm not sure where I should really be. (I'm 5' 7", currently 178 and aiming for 160)

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

ilovedeadlifts

I think the calipers are gonna be hit or miss. sometimes theyre pretty far off.

I'd shoot for somewhere in the 12-18 percent range. That's what I'd consider decent.

OLFATUG

What would be the best way to determine my body fat % then?

Chris_acc_can

You have a couple questions in there so here goes:

1)Body calipers range in price, entry level ones are $30 and go up to $2-300. The higher end ones suggest perfect calibration and most accurate results. Personally I wouldn't spend the money.

Calipers are only as good as the person using them. Most errors in measuring body fat using calipers are people not selecting the correct spot to measure or not pulling the skin fold properly. Additionally you can enter the exact same mesurements into 10 different body fat formulas and get different results. There are dozens of formulas that involve anywhere from 1 to 21 skin fold sites that will give various results.

Because of this I would take a body fat % into perspective. The key essential is to buy 1 pair of calipers (at any price point) and only use it to measure your skin folds (don't swap tools). Also when measuring the skin fold make sure you use the same technique every time so as to eliminate variations due to how you pull the skin fold or where you measure. For places that you cannot measure yourself use the same person to remeasure. By being consistent your results will remain constant and can be compared over time.

I personally track the mm at each site, as you lose body fat the mm will go down and will see the progress.

2) BMI is a joke, for my height and weight I am considered overweight. I am 9.6% body fat, but BMI doesn't factor in muscle mass so as you gain muscle BMI doesn't adjust.

Body Fat Chart
Classification Women Men
Essential Fat 10-12% 2-4%
Athletes 14-20% 6-13%
Fitness 21-24% 14-17%
Acceptable 25-31% 18-25%
Obese 32% plus 25% plus

The essential fat is required for your body to perform nessecary functions. Dropping below this is dangerous. I also like breaking down the Acceptable range into 2 different groups. 18-22 being average and 22-25 being overweight.

Again, if you look online there will be tons of variations in the body fat % zones.

Finally, as for where you want your body fat to be. It depends on what your goals. I personally am going for a 6 pack, and will need to be in the 8's to get there (belly fat is the last to go). Your goals will dictate your desired body fat.


Hope that help NPH.

bcattoes

From webmd.com:

Estimating Body Fat Percentagee:

There are a number of ways to estimate what percentage of your weight is fat. But measuring body fat is not done routinely, because all of these methods have advantages and disadvantages as well as margins of error.

The easiest and most popular methods for body fat testing are not as accurate as other, more expensive methods. The most popular methods include:

--Skinfold thickness. An instrument called a caliper is used to measure the thickness of fat at one or more sites on the body. Measuring skin-fold thickness gives a reasonable estimate of body fat composition, especially if measurements are taken from several sites. But the results can vary when different people take the measurements or if the person taking the measurements is not well-trained.

--Bioelectrical impedance. A small electrical current is passed through your body, allowing the electrical resistance of your body to be measured. Bioelectrical impedance measurement of body fat is based on the principle that lean body mass conducts electricity better than fat body mass. Along with the electrical resistance, your height and weight are used to calculate your percent of body fat. There are some devices, including body fat scales, that you can buy to calculate your percentage of body fat using this method. Results can vary based on how much water is in your body and where the electrodes are placed.

Other, more accurate methods for estimating body fat are usually done only at universities and research facilities. They include:

--Underwater weighing. This is also called hydrodensitometry and is based on the principle that fat tissue is less dense than muscle and bone.

--DEXA, or dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. This is a type of X-ray that can tell how much fat tissue you have and where it is.

Experts differ in their opinions about what is a healthy percentage of body fat. In general, 10% to 25% body fat is considered healthy in an adult man, and 18% to 32% body fat is considered healthy in an adult woman. Above or below this level is usually considered unhealthy.

Percentage of body fat will vary between different population groups. Your age, sex, and activity level will also affect your percentage of body fat. For example, endurance runners have less body fat than swimmers. People living near the North or South Pole generally have more body fat than people living in more moderate temperature zones.

Remember that percentage of body fat, by itself, doesn't tell whether a person is healthy or unhealthy.

stephl21uk

i use the scales at my local pharmacy once a week and that measures it for me, only costs 70p and im assuming that it is pretty accurate. :0)

Chris_acc_can

Most accruate method is submersion testing, but it is not practical. Calipers are the best way to go. Submersion testing require you enter a pool and submerse yourself under water. The displacement of the water is measured to give you the body fat.

See the link for more methods. IMO calipers are the best, even with their shortcomings.

http://new-fitness.com/body_fat_analyzing.html

OLFATUG

Thanks for all the information guys, I really appreciate it!