body fat percentage?
How can I find my real body fat percentage. A lot of the online calculators I've found only ask my weight, sex, and waist size. It's hard for me to understand how they calculate that without like my height, age, or if I'm atheletic or something. Help?
Public Comments
- Get a doctors appointment, they can help you. they helped my family.
- The only accurate way is the underwater test. The calipers can be off. But why do you need to know it so badly.
- you can buy a weighing scale machine that does it all for you. It takes the measurements by sending a current and calculating them, while you stand on it. It also takes your water ratio percentage in your body. a bit more than your average price of a weighing scale but worth it to see what you are.
- I suggest that you make an appointment at you local gym and the diet and fitness experts have great calculators that can help you.
- I have tried to find some accurate ones also. Here is a web site that might help, if not then go see your doctor.
- use a BMI calculator. it takes height and weight. link here ---> http://www.kraft.com.au/HealthyLiving/HealthCheckTools/BMICalculator.htm a BMI of under 19 is underweight 20-25 is normal (very good weight) 26+ is overweight hope this helps :)
- any scale, caliper, measurement calculator that predicts bodyfat % is grossly inaccurate. it could be off by up to 10%. the only 2 proven methods to accurately measure bodyfat % are hydrostatic weighing (when they dip you in a pool), and a machine called the body pod (it's getting pretty popular in mega franchise gyms) but very expensive. a good way to measure body fat percentage is to just look in the mirror... do you see a lot of muscle definition, definition in the abs, arms, legs, tight flat stomch, no blubber... then you have low body fat% if you look "normal" to today's standards, then it's pretty high (for females, above 22%) if you look skinny, but have a little gut or belly or fat jiggling somewhere, it's probably a bit high (above 22%) if you are "chubby", it's probably in the 30's% if you are overweight... it's probably above 35% people usually low blow their estimate... if someone is 25%, they'd tell you they are 18%... fact of the matter is, anything under 18% for females looks atheletic and fit... anything under 12% for males, looks athletic and fit but without a lot of muscle definition. hope that helps
- try going to a bmi (body mass index) calculator... heres one... http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/ good luck! =)
- After underwater weighing, skin calipers are the most accurate (assuming the person using them is experienced at the method). If you live near a college or university, their physical education department may be able to do it for you.
