The United States Navy and Marine Corps require sailors and Marines to meet basic physical fitness and body-composition requirements. Weight is the preferred method of determining body composition, but if a sailor or Marine is determined to be...
Determining the amount of body fat that you possess provides an important measure of your state of physical fitness and general health. For average individuals, body fat should comprise between 15 to 17 percent of the total body weight of men and...
You need a certain percentage of body fat to help produce hormones, protect vital organs and act as an insulator to maintain your body temperature. Although some fat is essential, too much can lead to obesity and cause a whirlwind of health...
Too much body fat can lead to a number of heath issues, include heart disease, hypertension (high blood pressure), type 2 diabetes and varicose veins. The body mass index (BMI) uses your height and weight to determine the approximate amount of fat...
With 42 million children under the age of 5 overweight and numbers and rates on the rise, childhood obesity presents a global epidemic. Children who are overweight are at risk for ridicule and of becoming an overweight adult, according to the...
The body mass index, or BMI, is one of the most commonly used assessments to determine a person's nutritional status. The BMI is easy to calculate and relies only on an individual's height and weight. Though the BMI has a number of flaws, it is...
Body fat is a good, reliable indicator of fitness and health. When body fat percentage is high, it increases the risk of developing serious health problems such as heart disease and diabetes. A healthy body fat percentage range for men is 14 to 20...
Women are classified as having an unhealthy amount of body fat by the American Council on Exercise and the YMCA at levels above 32 percent. Precisely determining this figure has become of more importance, particularly if you are in your 50s and...
Body fat percentage consists of essential body fat and storage body fat. Calculation of body fat percentage is not always an exact science, but it has improved vastly over the years. Many methods are used to calculate body fat percentage, and all...
Your body composition is important in understanding your overall health and fitness. Measuring your body's composition helps you identify how much lean muscle tissue and fat tissue you have. Weight alone is not an accurate indicator of fitness....
Knowing your body fat percentage is crucial for knowing if you are susceptible to any health risks. Obtaining your body fat percentage can be easily done with handheld calipers or electrical impedance meters that are sold in stores. Once you have...
Your body's composition is defined by the percentage of body fat versus fat-free mass. Fat-free mass is comprised of everything that isn't body fat, including muscle and bone. Many methods have been developed for measuring body composition....
Your body fat index is a mathematical calculation that uses your height and weight to estimate how much body fat you are carrying. The number is then plugged into a chart that gives men, women and children a perspective of how much body fat falls...
Determining the amount of body fat you have is a common method of assessing your physical fitness as you progress through a fitness program. Skinfold calipers are a special type of caliper that can measure the thickness of the fat under your skin....
Body fat percentage is the amount of your body's weight that is made up of fat. It is a more accurate depiction of health than simple weight because it takes into account your muscle mass. Body fat percentage measurements are taken with a...
Body composition is an effective way to measure your body's response to training independent of body weight. Periodically assessing your percentage values of fat and lean mass provides a useful baseline against which to compare your progress, But...
Body fat, or body-fat percentage, measurements are used to determine what portion of your overall weight is made up of fat. Body-fat percentage is a more accurate way to tell if someone is overweight and a better gauge for monitoring and planning...
The body mass index -- BMI -- formula uses your height and weight to show a rough body fat calculation. Although the calculation is a good indicator for overweight and obesity levels, it should be taken into consideration that muscle is heavier...
Heart rate, blood pressure, weight, time in a 5k run or pounds you can bench press--fitness and health have lots of numbers. Fitness professionals and exercisers both rely on subjective measures--like how you feel working out--and objective...
There are a number of expensive medical methods -- dual energy X-ray, air displacement plethysmography and underwater weighing -- that accurately calculate the percent of your body weight that is stored as fat, but for most people, a quick glance...
Your health is determined not so much by your actual weight as by your muscle-to-fat ratio. Both direct and indirect measures of body fat percentage are available, all of which can give you a general idea of whether or not you are too heavy....
The percentage of your body weight that comes from fat is known as your body fat percentage. You can calculate your body fat percentage with a standard formula that uses a few simple measurements of your body. The specific procedure for the...
It's important to know how to calculate and monitor your body fat content because higher percentages of body fat can increase your risk of diabetes, heart disease and cancer. You can find your body fat percentage using fat calipers, body fat...
According to the American Council on Exercise, the healthy range for men's body fat is between 6 and 24 percent. This means that no more and no less of your total weight should be comprised of fat. Living outside this range is both unhealthy and...
The amount of fat on your body is a common measure of fitness and is generally more meaningful than your total weight. This is because you tend to lose fat and gain muscle as your fitness improves, which may result in a net gain in weight. Your...
Body weight alone is not the best indicator of a healthy body mass. A 6-foot tall professional basketball player might seriously outweigh a 5-foot 6-inch bank teller. However, because the basketball player is taller and has more muscle, the...
Body fat percentage is a calculation that determines how much body fat you have on your body. This fitness parameter is used by personal trainers and medical professionals to track progress of clients and to determine health risks. If you are...
Calculating your body fat online is relatively simple. Knowing your percentage body fat can help you determine how much you should weigh and therefore how many pounds you might want to lose (or gain). Online tools make it easy to find out how much...
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...
