How can I measure Body Fat?

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kylielouttit
kylielouttit Posts: 512 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Is there a formula for measuring body fat?

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  • PoeticKat
    PoeticKat Posts: 2
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    Click on the "Tools" tab, and you'll find a BMI calculator.
  • abredbenner
    abredbenner Posts: 125 Member
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    You can buy calipers and measure certain areas. There will probably be instructions with the calipers on where to measure and how to multiply. I bought a a digital body fat monitor because I hate math. I think it was $30. You input height and weight and put your hands on the sensors and it gives you a read out. You can also buy a scale that give BF measurement but I heard they are not very accurate.
  • neenaleigh
    neenaleigh Posts: 584 Member
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    i couldnt figure the calipers out to save my life~! i just walked into my Gym and asked them to do it for me....you can also have your doctor measure it too!
  • kylielouttit
    kylielouttit Posts: 512 Member
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    Thanks! I am 22.5!
  • tross0924
    tross0924 Posts: 909 Member
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    You mean body fat percentage? There's no mathematical formula that i know of to do that. There are a couple of ways however.

    Scales - Certain scales have an impedence? measuring system. You stand on the barefoot, they send a signal through your body and based on how fast and how much returns can give a decent (+/- 5%) reading. This number can change drastically depending on your hydration levels.

    Calipers - some one pinches a fold of skin in certain areas of your body and then measures how thick it is. They then put those numbers into a formula and can give a slightly less accurate reading (+/- 7%). This can depend a lot on the skill of the pincher. Pinch to big a fold and get totally different readings, so it can vary a bunch.

    The Archamedie's principal - Never seen it done, but heard of it before. Get in a giant tub of water and see how much your body displaces, then using another formula with height and mass you can determine, fairly accurately (+/- 2%), your percentage.

    All in all I'd recomend the scale.
  • JessicaFB
    JessicaFB Posts: 126 Member
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    If there is hydrostatic body fat testing in your area, that is the most accurate way. What state are you in?
  • kylielouttit
    kylielouttit Posts: 512 Member
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    If there is hydrostatic body fat testing in your area, that is the most accurate way. What state are you in?

    I'm in Medicine Hat, AB, Canada.
  • robyndanielle3
    robyndanielle3 Posts: 25 Member
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    I completely agree with Jess, hydrostatic is the way to go. I used to get mine done all the time when I was going to college.

    I'm going to schedule an appointment with the Kinesiology department to do it again. Maybe, a college near you has that technology! We had Hydrostatic and BodPod testing as our two legit options... awesome!!!

    The benefits of being a Kines student. haha!

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