Why is this important?
Body Fat percentage measures the amount of fat stored in person’s body. This will include both the essential body fat needed as well as the excess body fat stored. The remainder, or “non-fat” is everything else including bones, blood, liquids, tendons, ligaments and of course muscle. Knowing your body fat percentage is a good indicator of health and fitness levels, even more relevant than measuring weight alone.
There are different recommended levels of body fat from different authorities, a rough guideline taken from wikipedia is as follows:
| Description | Women | Men |
|---|---|---|
| Essential fat | 10–13% | 2–5% |
| Athletes | 14–20% | 6–13% |
| Fitness | 21–24% | 14–17% |
| Average | 25–31% | 18–24% |
| Obese | 32%+ | 25%+ |
How do I use this?
Unfortunately, we could not find a good formula that was consistently accurate. There are varied methods to measure body fat, and all have different pro’s and con’s. When you take ease of use, cost, and accuracy into account, we found that scale or hand held Bioelectrical impedance analysis is the easiest way to get a rough estimate (+/=10%). Anything more accurate costs $1000’s to purchase.
Go to your local gym and ask if you can have your fat measurements taken. Chances are they will have a hand held version and you get a reading on the spot. Once you have that, enter the fat percentage and your weight in the form below. Click on the button to calculate your lbs of fat and muscle, which will appear in Bold lettering below the button.
| Your BF Values: !!! Your BF Amounts will Appear here !!! | |||
Want to know more?
If you want to know more on accepted or recommended body fat guidelines, then read up on it on wikipedia, webMD, search for it online, or talk to a health professional. If you are looking to take control over your BF%, I’d recommend you start by talking to your doctor or other health professional. Your local supplement store is not the place to go for advice on this 😉