Body Fat Calculators, etc.

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juliedee20
juliedee20 Posts: 44 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Anyone out there find a good online body fat calculator? The best one I've found so far is at http://www.healthstatus.com/perl/calculator.cgi but I'd like to know what others use. They are all so different! Also, any other suggestions for good overall fitness calculators (BMI, etc.) would be great!

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  • juliedee20
    juliedee20 Posts: 44 Member
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    ...and I wanted to add that I don't have calipers. I know it won't be 100% accurate, but I'd like to come close to a number I know is reliable.
  • vorgas
    vorgas Posts: 741 Member
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    Body fat calculations are all estimates at best. The gold standard is the one where they dip you in a tank of water, but even this can have 2% error or more. And it is very costly.

    Ones that use calipers to measure different skin-fold sites will vary depending on what you do. Some of the calculations are more accurate for athletes, others are more accurate for sedentary folks.

    The ones that use electrical impedence also measure visceral fat (the fat around your organs, which you really want) and can be thrown off by any number of criteria.

    Bottom line: Finding the 'most accurate' is a waste of time. Find the one that is most consistent for you, and track your trends.
  • moe0303
    moe0303 Posts: 934 Member
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    ^ yeah, that.

    But if you're looking for different options trying to choose one that works for you, here is a source for the Navy formula: http://usmilitary.about.com/od/theorderlyroom/a/bodyfat.htm
    ...for females, the formula is % body fat = 163.205 x log10(waist + hip - neck) - 97.684 x log10(height) - 78.387.
  • juliedee20
    juliedee20 Posts: 44 Member
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    Thanks for the input. I think, based on everything, I'm at least close to where I should be. I guess I'll have to be content with that, all things considered, and just keep an eye on my trending. Thank you, again, to both of you for putting in your time to help answer my question!

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