The percent of body fat is the percentage of your total weight that comes from fat. It's a common measure of physical fitness since it considers the amount of fat that you have rather than only your total body weight. A healthy diet and exercise program should cause you to lose fat as you gain muscle, resulting in a decrease in your body fat percentage. The calculation of your body fat percentage will require you to take some physical measurements of yourself.
Step 1
Obtain your weight in pounds by weighing. You'll also need to measure the circumference of your waist at your navel. Your body fat estimate will be most accurate if you take these measurements when you first wake up.
Step 2
Take additional measurements if you're female. Measure the circumference of your wrist, forearm and hips in inches. Take all of these measurements at the widest point.
Step 3
Calculate your lean weight if you're female. This requires you to use the equation (weight x 0.732) + (wrist / 3.14) + (forearm x 0.434) - (hips x 0.249) - (waist x 0.157) + 8.987. Assume you're a 125-pound female with a 29-inch waist. Your wrist measures 6 inches, your forearm measures 9 inches and your hips measure 37 inches. Your lean weight is (125 x 0.732) + (6 / 3.14) + (9 x 0.434) - (37 x 0.249) - (29 x 0.157) + 8.987 = 109 pounds.
Step 4
Compute your lean weight if you're male. This requires you to use the equation (weight x 1.082) -- (waist x 4.15) + 94.42. Assume you're a 162-pound male with a 33-inch waist. Your lean weight is (162 x 1.082) -- (33 x 4.15) + 94.42 = 133 pounds.
Step 5
Derive your body fat percentage. This calculation uses the equation (total weight - lean weight) / (total weight) x 100. Assume you weigh 125 pounds and have a lean weight of 109 pounds. Your body fat percentage is therefore (125 - 109) / 125 x 100 = 12.8 percent.
Things You'll Need
- Scale
- Tape measure
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