Accuracy of Body Fat Calculators?
Hey I'm 24 year old male, always been heavy but packed on pounds in last year of uni. About 6' tall, and 215lbs. According to that, BMI is about 29.2, which isn't so bad I think. But then i tried a body fat calculator and that says 30% fat, when according to them i should be about 18%! I tried some other online calculators but they all give roughly the same answer. I've got a pretty big stomach (43" waist), but I'm generally heavy-set, so not too out of proportion. Are these online calculators just a bunch of bull? If it's just my belly size, is there any way I can reduce it without dieting? Can you get like targetted surgery or something like lipsuction for it?
Public Comments
- OK.. first lets clear up a common myth.. BMI does not measure body fat or obesity like everyone thinks it does... BMI is a scale, and the spot that is designated as overweight is done so because people at that % and above have traditionally had more health problems.. so BMI is actually just comparing you to an average (based on height and weight) to see if you are at a higher risk for health issues. so, if you have a healthy BMI that means you are not at a weight that is correlated with higher health risks. that doesn't mean you don't have a weight problem. now that being said, males tend to store fat in the area of the stomach first and threw a healthy diet and exercise you should be able to lessen the visible body fat you have.
- A BMI over 24.9 is considered overweight, while a BMI of more than 30 is considered obese. While BMI can be labled as an inaccurate predictor of body fat for people with high ratios of muscle (like body builders, for example), it is a fairly competent indicator for everyday people. I wouldn't use an online body-fat calculator, simply because there's not a legitimate way to tell based on weight/height proportions only. You would need to use a physical body fat measurer (they have them at gyms and of course at doctor's offices), which measures the fattiest portions of the body (like the stomach, underneath the upper arm, or the lovehandle). Make a doctor's appointment and ask them to measure your body fat. Targeted surgery is not going to make you healthier. It sounds like you are overweight, and there is no miracle fix. Try diet and exercise. Go to a trainer or read up on building lean, non-bulky muscle through aerobic workouts.
