Method of measuring body's fat

There are quite a number of ways to determine whether a person's weight is within a healthy range. Being heavy is not necessary be bad if we're talking someone who gains extra weight by build up the more muscles. After all, nobody would consider a muscular person as unhealthy person because muscle is good tissue!

Through the measurement of body fats, we can tell a person is whether healthy or unhealthy. Listed below are the common methods of measuring body fats:-

1) Body Mass Index (BMI)

This is most common form of measuring fats. The formula is as below:

BMI = Weight(KG) / ( Height (m) x Height (m) )

It has it own limitation since it assumes one has a "typical" standard build. Body builders and wrestlers ain't your typical build so the BMI as a means of measuring fat is not applicable to them. Children should refer to an age and gender specific BMI chart. As a general guideline, below are the indication of your body weight:

* Underweight = <18.5 weight =" 18.5-24.9" overweight =" 25-29.9" obesity =" BMI" style="font-weight: bold;">2) Waist Circumference
It might be used to identify people at health risk both from being overweight and from having a central fat distribution. To accurately measure one's waist, the basis has to be established - the correct position for measuring waist circumference is midway between the upper hip bone and the lowest point of the rib cage. For those very overweight people, it is probably difficult to locate midway, so placing the measuring tape at the belly button is recommended. Men and women storing their body fats differently, Men tend to store fat around the abdomen area and women around the hips and thighs. The measurement of waist circumference provides information about the distribution of one's body fat and risks to obesity related conditions.


3) Waist to Hip Ratio (HWR)
The waist-hip ratio in women is often considered a key feature to assess their physical attractiveness. This is basically the ratio of the waist circumference to the hip ratio. In addition to measuring the waist circumference, the hip circumference is also measured and the resultant waist to hip ratio is used as an indication of risk to coronary heart disease.
Below chart is a general guideline that shows how healthy a person is:
Waist to Hip Ratio Chart
Male Female Health Risk Based Solely on WHR
0.95 or below 0.80 or below Low Risk
0.96 to 1.0 0.81 to 0.85 Moderate Risk
1.0+ 0.85+ High Risk


4) Skinfold
This method is done by measuring a pinch of skin by calipers at several standardized points on the body to determine the subcutaneous fat layer thickness. An equation is then used to estimate the body fat percentage based on the measurement taken.

Excellent Good Average Below average Poor

Male 60-80 81-90 91-110 111-150 150+
Female 70-90 91-100 101-120 121-150 150+


5) Bioelectrical Impedence Analysis (BIA)
This method measures body composition by sending a low, safe electrical current through the body. The current passes freely through the fluids contained in muscle tissue, but encounters difficulty/resistance when it passes through fat tissue. This resistance of the fat tissue to the current is termed 'bioelectrical impedance', and is accurately measured by body fat scales. When set against a person's height and weight, the scales can then compute their body fat percentage.


6) Near Infrared Interactance (NIR)

A new method based on the principles of light absorbtion , reflectance, and near infrared spectroscopy. A computerized spectrophotometer that has a scan and probe are used. The probe is placed onto a selected body site such as the biceps and it emits an infrared light which passes through both fat and muscle and is reflected back to the probe. Differences in optical density as a result of difference in body composition, are measured to give an indirect measurement of body fat. The method is safe, noninvasive, rapid, easy to use, and may prove useful to predict percentage body fat, especially in the obese.

7)Dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA)
It is commonly used to measure bone density,lean mass and it can also deliver fat mass readings. It employs two X-ray energies to measure body fat, muscle, and bone mineral. It takes approximately 10 to 20 mins for a full body scan. The results may be viewed as whole body estimates of body fat, muscle, and bone mineral as well as regional body estimates. It appears to be quite accurate within about a 3 percent error.








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