Body Fat Calculators Demystified

If there's one thing every dieter has in common, it's that they are trying to decrease the amount of fat in their bodies. Whether through a balanced program, through diet alone or just by exercising like a fiend, all dieters are trying to get rid of those extra inches of wobbly weight. Of course, if you're going to lose it, it might help to know just how much fat you're dealing with at the outset.

It would help, before measuring, to understand just exactly what body percentage is. It is the weight of your body's fat as a percentage of your total weight. Thus, if you weight 200 pounds and your body's fat weighs 100 pounds, your body fat is 50 percent. And you are quite likely very unhealthy.

That's where body fat calculators come in. Through various methods, they purport to tell you what your body fat percentage is. The three main varieties of calculators are:

• Home body fat scales
• Skinfold calipers
• Hydrostatic weighing

Home body fat scales measure body fat by use of a low-amperage electrical current being passed through the body between contact points, usually located on the toe pads of the scale. The scale measures the impedance, or how much the resistance of the body slows down the current, to determine the body fat percentage. These scales are wildly popular, but can also be wildly inaccurate if you do things which temporarily change your body chemistry like eating, drinking or exercising.

Skinfold calipers are very accurate, but buying a set for yourself can be prohibitively expensive. They are fairly common, however, at doctor's offices and even at many health clubs, where personal trainers use them to help their clients document their progress (or lack thereof).

Hydrostatic weighing is the most accurate method of measuring body fat, but it requires a hydrostatic weighing tank. This method involves determining how much water your body displaces when immersed, which gives your total body density, which is then used to calculate your body fat percentage.

All three of these methods have their advantages, and knowing your body fat percentage is a good tool to help you plan your weight-loss efforts and figure out where you are on your journey. At least the initial measurement of your percentage should be done by a professional, but after that you should be able to keep track of it yourself.

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