Weight Loss Information

How To Measure Body Fat


When it all comes down to losing or gaining weight, most people turn to the scales to determine how much they should lose or gain to have the weight or the shape that they desire.

However, health experts said weight alone is not a clear indicator of good health because it does not distinguish between pounds that come from body fat and those that come from lean body mass or muscle.

Being over fat and overweight is not the same. Overweight simply means an excess of total body weight based on population averages for heights and body frame sizes. On the other hand, obesity is defined as an excess of body fat regardless of weight.

What we have to consider, experts said, in order to determine our fitness, is to know our body fat. Remember that body fat is a percentage of your total weight, so even slender people can have dangerously high levels of body fat.

Here are three ways of measuring your body fat:

1. Home Body Fat Scales-- Body fat scales claim to measure body fat quickly and conveniently. These body fat scales use the Bioelectrical Impedance method to measure your body fat percentage. A low-level electrical current is passed through your body and the "impedance", or opposition to the flow of current, is measured.

2. Skin fold Calipers-- Calipers are a tool that looks somewhat like a giant tweezers. These are used to grasp your skin folds at different points on your body and measure the thickness. These measurements are then compared to standard values for persons of your age and gender to give you your estimated body fat.

3. Hydrostatic Weighing-This is just a fancy term for underwater weighing. You sit on a scale inside a tank of water and blow out as much air as you can. You are dunked underwater, where you blow out even more air. Since fat is lighter than water, the more fat you have, the more you will float. The scale measures underwater weight to figure out body density. The margin of error is around 2-3%, but the accuracy depends on the amount of air you expel. You have to blow it ALL out or it will not be as accurate.

This is a difficult way to measure body fat since it can be uncomfortable and even scary to be dunked underwater with no air in the old lungs.

Weight Loss Product Reviews, top rated Weight Loss Product Reviews and site with best Weight Loss Products. http://www.weightlossproductreview.com


MORE RESOURCES:

ABC News

Weight Loss Aids Bought on Internet Might Harm Your Heart
ABC News - 5 hours ago
By Kathleen Doheny THURSDAY, May 15 (HealthDay News) -- Weight-loss supplements widely available for purchase online often include ingredients that are ...


Baptist Hospital East offering weight-loss surgery
Bizjournals.com, NC - 2 hours ago
A free, physician-led seminar on weight-loss surgery is scheduled for June 5, at 6:30 pm, in Baptist Hospital East's Education Center. ...


Alli and the weight loss drug market
NutraIngredients-usa.com, France - 5 hours ago
By Lorraine Heller 16-May-2008 - GlaxoSmithKline's alli product - which is the only weight loss drug to directly compete with dietary supplements - has ...


Contactmusic.com

COLIN FARRELL - FARRELL: 'WEIGHT LOSS IS HEALTHY'
Contactmusic.com, UK - 46 minutes ago
Actor COLIN FARRELL has sparked fears for his health after he appeared at a press conference looking alarmingly gaunt - but he insists he's merely shedding ...


Nibbles: Obesity and global warming, Atkins and weight loss, the ...
CalorieLab Calorie Counter News, NV - 1 hour ago
Obesity is a global responsibility that is contributing to global warming, according to Phil Edwards and Ian Roberts of the London School of Hygiene ...


Colin Farrell Calls Weight Loss 'Very Healthy'
People Magazine - 3 hours ago
The actor also referred to the Scott Anderson novel on which Triage is based, reading the sentences that inspired his dramatic weight loss: "He went to the ...


The Worlds First Online Weight Loss Hypnothon
PR Web (press release), WA - 11 hours ago
The world's first mass-hypnosis for permanent weight loss online event will take place on Sunday June 1st. It will demonstrate, to overweight people, ...


Low-Carb Cuts Triglycerides In Half Over Six-Week Period Without ...
CarbWire.com - 6 hours ago
It was a great reminder that livin' la vida low-carb is not just some quick fix weight loss regimen as it has often been portrayed by the media and those ...


Take the PI's fitness/weight loss challenge
Palladium-Item, IN - 5 hours ago
Going it alone to lose a few pounds, eat a better diet or get more fit can be challenging, but community support can help. That’s why a few local residents ...


Emotional eater celebrates 90-pound weight loss
Times Colonist, Canada - 11 hours ago
Self-assurance has never been an issue for Heike Reiter. The outgoing and personable single mother of two boys exuded confidence even when she managed to ...

Weight-Loss - Google News

home | site map
© Care Online 2006