The percentage of your body weight that comes from fat is your body fat percentage. It’s a common method of tracking your progress in a fitness program, and should decrease as your physical condition improves. You can use simple body measurements to estimate your body fat percentage by using a standard formula. Your gender has a significant effect on the distribution of fat in your body, so each gender has its own formula.
Step 1
Weigh yourself with a bathroom scale to get your weight in pounds. Measure your waist at the level of your navel with a tape measure that uses inches. People of both genders need to make these measurements.
Step 2
Take additional measurements if you’re female. Women also need to measure their forearm, wrist and hips. Make these measurements at the widest point and ensure the measurements are in inches.
Step 3
Calculate male lean body weight with the formula (1.082 x W) – (4.15 x A) + 94.42, where W is your weight and A is your waist. Assume your weight is 192 lb. and your waist measurement is 34 inches. This provides a lean body weight of (1.082 x 192) – (4.15 x 34) + 94.42 = 161 lb.
Step 4
Compute female lean body weight with the equation (0.732 x W) – (0.157 x A) + (R / 3.14) + (0.434 x F) – (0.249 x H) + 8.987. The W in this equation is weight, A is the waist measurement, R is the wrist measurement, F is the forearm measurement and H is the hips measurement. Assume your weight is 137 lb., your waist is 31 inches, your wrist is 7 in., your forearms are 10 in. and your hips are 37 in. This provides a lean body weight of (0.732 x 137) – (0.157 x 31) + (7 / 3.14) + (0.434 x 10) – (0.249 x 37) + 8.987 = 102 lbs.
Step 5
Convert your lean body weight to your body fat percentage with the equation (body weight – lean body weight) x 100 / (body weight). Assume your body weight is 192 lb. and your lean body weight is 161 lb. You have a body fat percentage of (192 – 161) x 100 / 192 = 16.1 percent.
Things You'll Need
- Bathroom scale
- Calculator
- Tape measure
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