Calculating Body Fat Percentages

There are so any ways for you to determine your health level. While BMI (Body Mass Index) is the new way of determining if you are at a healthy weight, it doesn’t account for what percentage of that weight that is made up of fat or muscle. A body fat percentage test can tell you almost exactly how much of your body is made up of fat, making it easier to determine your health level but also to track your progress in a fitness or training routine. By tracking your body fat percentage you can ensure that the weight you are losing is fat and not muscle, as well as reassure yourself that progress is being made on the weeks where the scale doesn’t budge.
 
There are several ways of analyzing your body fat percentage. There are online tools that use measurements and weight to estimate your body fat, like this one from University Healthcare. More reliable, however, are body fat calipers that perform what is known as a “pinch test” to evaluate your body fat percentage. Of course, if you want to get pinpoint accuracy, you can go to a weight loss clinic and have your body submersed in water for an extremely accurate reading.

Analyzing your body fat percentage is a very good way of determining your physical fitness. Obviously 200 pounds on a man with 30% body fat will look very different than 200 pounds on a man with only 11% body fat.

So, what is considered healthy body fat percentage?
Although the answer to that differs slightly depending on where you look, this simple chart will give you a good indication of if your body fat percentage falls within a healthy range:

Women
Essential: 10-12%
Althletic: 14-20%
Fit: 21-24%
Acceptable: 25-31%:
Obese: More than 32%

Men
Essential: 2-4%
Althletic: 6-13%
Fit: 14-17%
Acceptable: 18-25%
Obese: More than 25%

The human body needs fat to function. Too little fat and your organs will not work properly. This “essential” amount of fat is the minimum your body needs to work. The female body needs slightly higher body fat percentage than the male due to the reproductive organs. While you may strive to get within the “athletic” range, know that as long as you are consistently improving your fitness level and your health, that your body will follow suit.

Check out this accurate body fat caliper for at-home body fat testing and a good progress management tool.