Ways To Measure Body Fat

To lose weight and to look lean, you need to lose the fat that is stored in your body. Fat make us look plump and distort our body structure. To burn extra fat you have to consumer lesser calories and burn more of it with the help of exercise.

But before burning fat it’s important for you to determine the fat composition in your body. There are several ways to measure body fat but the best ways to determine the same are:

Underwater Weighing:

Underwater weight is the best and the accurate way to determine the body fat percentage, but it may be less practical as it is done with the help of sophisticated machines at research facilities. Underwater weighing is based on the principle that fat floats in the water. Therefore immersing a body in a tub filled with water can help in determining the percent of fat in one’s body.

To determine the fat percentage, you need to sit in a large tub or tank full of water in a chair with the weight belt all around your waist. A technician then will then dip you inside the water. You are required to be inside the water for 10 seconds so that the technicians can record your weight underwater. In order to figure out the average weight, the same procedure will be repeated for at least 8-10 times.

The technician will calculate your body volume by calculating the difference of your body weight underwater and in air. The technician will then calculate the density of your body. After calculating density, the technician will compute your body fat percentage.

Skin Fold Thickness:

Skin fold thickness measures the fat that is under the skin. This is a simple method to determine the body fat percentage. This is again done by an experienced person to yield the accurate result. However, if a novice person will do it, it is very likely that the calculation will not be accurate. This technique is not so useful in determining the fat percentage on older people and who is overweight.

Dietitian, doctors, weight loss experts are experts in measuring the skin fold thickness. This is measured with the help of skin fold calliper at upper back, upper thigh, upper arm and stomach. The trained person will take two sets of measurements and will calculate the average at each site. This will help in measuring the body fat percentage.