Body Fat Calculator
Body Fat Calculator: Formulas For Weight Loss
Calculating body fat is an essential premise of any successful weight loss program. With this in mind, I highly recommend the body fat calculator tool. It will assist you in calculating body fat percentage to keep your body full of vitality and energy.
In this article, let's discuss how to calculate body fat percentage using a body fat calculator. Also, I will show you how to use a percentage calculator for weight loss. Continue reading to catch the most important and valuable information.
Table of Contents
Is Fat Control Important?
Fat, also known as adipose tissue, is an indispensable component in any living organism's structure. You need a certain amount of fat to store energy and regulate hormone production. Yet, if the body fat percentage is too high, your body will face serious health problems, such as:
Heart diseases
Obesity or excess fat is the leading cause of high blood pressure and bad cholesterol in the body. It is also the cause of severe heart disease. And some people can have a stroke and die.
Male hormones problems
That said, fat directly affects the production of hormones in the human body. When this nutrient accumulates too much in the blood, women can produce more male hormones and cause hair and acne on the face and body.
Diabetes
There are many causes of type 2 diabetes, and high body fat percentage is one of them. Diabetes and being overweight have a very close correlation. That said, if you have a high BMI and body fat percentage, you are at increased risk for the disease.
Pregnancy complications
Obesity causes many complicated and severe complications for women, especially during pregnancy. They are more likely to give birth prematurely and are more likely to need a cesarean section.
These complications also directly affect the next generation, and the children born are very susceptible to obesity.
Calculate Body Fat Mass
Here are some helpful tips and tricks to help you calculate your fat mass. These include:
Measure body fat with BMI
Determining BMI is the most common method of calculating body fat percentage and lean body mass. It is inexpensive and also very easy to implement. However, I need to appreciate the accuracy of this method. Some people have the same BMI, but the fat percentage can be completely different.
Skinfold
Skinfold is an effective method with calipers in one or more positions to measure your essential body fat percentage. Because of the many errors involved, this method requires the operator to make 3-7 measurements.
The most significant limitation of this method is that it only measures the fatty tissue layer just below the skin (i.e., outside the body) without considering the fat percentage inside.
Water scale measuring body fat
Generally, humans fat cells (adipose tissue) have a 0.9 kg/liter density. Accordingly, lean body mass is higher, about 1.1 kg/liter.
Based on this principle, nutritionists can quickly measure body fat for each one.
Compared with other methods, this one has higher accuracy in figuring out the body mass index.
Supersonic
Ultrasound is the sure choice to identify subcutaneous adipose tissue and excess body fat mass quickly. It requires modern medical equipment and skilled doctors, so you will probably have to spend more to use this method.
What Is A Body Fat Percentage Calculator?
The body fat percentage calculator is an essential aid for measurements in calculating total body fat. In the section below, let's explore two popular ways to use this tool: U.S. Navy and BMI.
U.S. Navy Method
There are numerous techniques for measuring body fat percentage categories, but using a fat calculator is the most common. These tools are all based on the equations of the Naval Health Research Center, developed by Hodgdon and Beckett in 1984.
Here are the key measurements commonly used:
-
Waist measurement: This measurement is intended to determine the level around the navel for both men and women. To ensure accuracy, the test subject should be comfortable and not pulling on the stomach.
-
Measure neck circumference: Its starting position is from the point below the larynx. It asks the person taking the test not to extend the neck or pull it back.
-
Measure hip length: This measurement provides a woman's body's most prominent horizontal size.
Once you have completed the above calculations, you need to use the formulas below to calculate your body fat. In particular, the two main equations include:
Unit | For Males |
USC |
86.010×log10 (abdomen-neck)-70.041×log10(height)+36.76 |
Unit | For Females |
Meter |
4951..29579 - 0.35004×log10(waist+hip-neck) + 0.22100×log10(height)-450 |
USC |
163.205×log10(waist+hip-neck)-97.684 log10(height))- 78.387 |
-
FM = BF × Weight
-
LM = Weight - F.M.
This formula is quite complex, so it isn't easy to do mental calculations or solve them manually on paper. Don't worry, the FFMI calculators will help you solve them quickly.
BMI Method
I appreciate the accessibility as the handy benefit of the BMI method. It deals with formulas for measuring human body height and weight. Through this BMI, you can easily estimate body fat percentage using the following formulas:
Object BFP Formula
Males
1..20 × BMI + 0.23 × Age - 16.2
Females
1.20 × BMI + 0.23 × Age - 5.4
Male children
1.51 × BMI - 0.70 × Age - 2.2
Female children
1.51 × BMI - 0.70 × Age + 1.4
To save time and ensure accurate results, I recommend using the army body fat calculator for the above calculations.
Ideal Body Fat Percentage
Once you've calculated your fat percentage, the next thing you need to do is compare it with ideal values, specifically as follows:
The American Council on Exercise Body Fat Categorization
The American Council on Exercise created this body fat percentage chart to provide generic estimates and guidelines for middle-aged people. You should consult your physician for policies that fit you.
Description | Men | Women |
Dangerous | < 2% | < 10% |
Essential fat | 2-5% | 10-13% |
Athletes | 6-13% | 14-20% |
Fitness | 14-17% | 21-24% |
Average | 18-25% | 25-31% |
Obese | > 25% | > 31% |
You are in the average and safe range if your body fat percentage is lower than 25 (for men) and 31 (for women). But if you exceed this number, your body will be in danger.
Jackson & Pollard Ideal Body Fat Percentages
This body fat percentage chart is based on research by Jackson & Pollock to provide generic estimates and guidelines for recommended fat percentage. You should consult your physician for policies that fit you.
Age | Men | Women |
20 | 8.5% | 17.7% |
25 | 10.5% | 18.4% |
30 | 12.7% | 19.3% |
35 | 13.7% | 21.5% |
40 | 15.3% | 22.2% |
45 | 16.4% | 22.9% |
50 | 18.9% | 25.2% |
55 | 20.9% | 26.3% |
Improve And Reduce Fat
Fat is not bad, but excess fat harms your body. So how do you cut this redundancy?
To help you handle this concern, I've researched and compiled some helpful principles below.
-
Long-term planning: Fat loss is not made in a short duration. That's why I recommend making a long-term plan. For example, you can start with gentle, moderate exercises and gradually increase the intensity.
-
Flexibly change between practices: This will make it difficult for your body to adapt to lose fat faster.
-
Healthy and low-saturated diet: Try to switch to a balanced diet; of course, you still need to add an appropriate amount of calories. I encourage you to choose snacks like fruits and vegetables and limit sweets and fatty foods.
-
Add water regularly and always keep enough water for the body.
-
Track your progress and essential body fat percent regularly with the fat percentage calculator
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a good body fat percentage?
Determining the ideal body fat percentage is based on your age and gender. For example, women aged 20-39 should keep their fat percentage between 21-32% while men are 8% to 19%.
How do I lower my body fat percentage from 25 to 15?
To effectively reduce body fat from 25% to 15%, you should consider the following methods:
-
Exercise regularly
-
Limit the absorption of bad fats
-
Combination of aerobic exercises
-
Drink enough water every day
How do I know what my ideal essential body fat is?
The amount of fat needed by women and men is very different. Men need between 2-24% fat for the body to be healthy and develop at its best. In contrast, women need at least 10% fat to ensure enough energy to supply the body.
Can you see abs at 18 body fat?
The short answer is yes. You can see abs with regular exercise if your body composition is between 14-20% for women and 6-13% for men.
How can I lose body fat without losing muscle mass?
There are many ways to burn fat without losing muscle mass. Some valuable solutions include:
-
Provide enough protein
-
Supplement vitamins from fruits and vegetables
-
Burn 2-3 servings of carbohydrates daily
-
Combine cardio and lose weight training regularly
-
Full rest
Conclusion
Thus, this article has provided all the essential information about measuring body fat percentage and its effects on the human body.
Also, we cover alternative methods of measuring effectiveness and general guidelines for fat loss.
I hope the information in this article is valuable enough for your life and reproductive functions.
In a nutshell, you should keep an ideal fat ratio at each particular stage of development to ensure a healthy and energetic body composition.
Thanks for reading!