Body Fat Index measures the amount of fat in your body. Your body needs a certain amount of fat to function properly. This fat, called essential fat, varies between men and women. The percent of body fat you have varies with your fitness level, and may not necessarily correlate with your weight. Although not highly complicated, the measurement and calculation of your Body Fat Index may require a professional to ensure accuracy, according to the American Council on Exercise.
Definition
While often confused with Body Mass Index, or BMI, Body Fat Index provides more specific information on how much of your mass comes from fat, and how much comes from muscles, bone, tissues and organs. An athlete and a "couch potato" could have the same BMI, but their Body Fat Index would vary greatly -- the couch potato having a much higher Body Fat Index than the athlete.
Interpretation
The American Council on Exercise, or ACE, indicates that the acceptable percentage of body fat varies between men and women, with women naturally having a higher percentage of body fat than men. Acceptable levels of fat for women range between 25 to 31 percent, but for men the range falls slightly lower, between 18 to 24 percent. Athletes and physically fit women range between 14 to 24 percent body fat, while athletes and physically fit men range between 6 to 13 percent body fat. Obesity begins when a woman has greater than 32 percent body fat or a man has greater than 25 percent body fat.
Skin Fold Measurements
While BMI can easily be calculated by measuring height and weight, Body Fat Index requires a more sophisticated process. One method uses skin fold measurements. This measurement assumes half of your total body fats lies under your skin. Using calipers, a professional measures the thickness of your skinfolds at specific standardized locations. Key to the validity of these measurements include proper site determination, as well as accuracy and consistency of the professional taking the measurement. The practitioner, or even a computer program, use these measurements in a series of formulas to calculate your overall body fat percentage, reports ACE.
Tape Measure Method
You can also estimate your body fat using calculations from measured parts of your body, according to HealthCheck Systems and Health Central. For men, only your weight and waist measurements contribute to the calculation. For women, your weight, waist, forearm, wrist and hips contribute to the calculation. Similar to the caliper measurements, the numbers from each site plug into a series of formulas resulting in the calculation of overall percentage of body fat. While this measurement provides a generally accurate body fat index for most people, athletes and very physically fit people may obtain results that indicate a higher body fat percentage than they actually have while couch potatoes who happen to be skinny may find the results of this method an underestimation of their overall fat content.
References
- American Council on Exercise: Percent Body Fat Calculator
- HealthCheck Systems: Understanding Your Body Fat Percentage
- Health Central: Home Body Fat Test
- BMI Calculator: Body Fat Calculator
- Livestrong.com: Percentage of Body Fat Vs. Body Mass Index Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/41009-percentage-body-fat-vs.-body/#ixzz17eUbcANj
- DaveDraper.com: Body Fat Calculator
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