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How Can I Accurately Calculate
and Measure Body Fat Percentage?
Article care of mybodycomp.com
More than 50 years ago Dr. Albert Behnke discovered a phenomenal method for finding the composition of a body (measuring body fat) by weighing people while they were submerged underwater. This method, called hydrostatic weighing, has become the standard by which all other methods of measuring body fat are compared. Unfortunately, hydrostatic weighing requires specialized, expensive equipment that most people don't have access to.
Other methods to measure body fat do exist, such as Bioelectrical Impedence, Near-Infrared and X-Ray. However these other methods also require expensive equipment or skilled technicians to properly administer. Plus, many of these methods of measuring body fat can have large errors due to clients exercising, eating or drinking, and in women, due to the menstrual cycle. Even when properly administered, the accuraccy of these othe methods has been questionable.
The most popular method of measuring body fat is the use of skin fold calipers. Skin fold calipers are inexpensive and seem simple to use, but actually require extensive training to use properly. There is often much error in making the measurements, even among trained scientists.
During his research with hydrostatic weighing Dr. Behnke made an astonishing discovery. He noticed a strong connection between measurements of the circumference of certain areas of the body and a person's body fat levels.
In fact, he was able to determine body fat with the same accuraccy as hydrostatic weighing using nothing more than these circumference measurements.
For the first time there was a simple to use, highly accurate, reproducible method of measuring body fat. Known as the "body circumference technique", the method also measures where the body's muscle and fat is out of proportion - something no other method was able to do (including hydrostatic weighing).
This test reqires a scale and a tape mesure. Do the following
calculations:
FOR MEN
Lean body weight (%) = 94.42 + 1.082 (nude weight in pounds)
- 4.15 (waist girth around bellybutton in inches)
Then:
Body fat (%) = bodyweight - lean bodyweight x 100
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bodyweight
FOR WOMEN
Lean body weight = 8.987 + 0.732 (weigth in kilograms)
+ 3.786 (wrist diameter in centimeters)
+ 0.434 (forearm circumference in centimeters)
Then:
Body fat (%) = bodyweight - lean bodyweight x 100
__________________________________
bodyweight
Notes:
To convert pounds to kilograms devide by 2.2
To convert inches to centimeters devide by 0.394
Devide circumference by 3.14 (pi) to get diameter.