Measuring Body Fat
http://www.healthcentral.com/cholesterol/home-body-fat-test-2774-143.html
Learn your body fat percentage with this quick and easy tool.
You can test your body fat by many different methods, but we have developed a method that is both very accurate and convenient.
You can do it yourself right now – all you need is a cloth tape to measure different parts of your body.
Start by telling us your…
Age:
Current Body Weight: lbs.
or kg.
Sex: Male
Female
About This Body Fat Test
Covert Bailey believes that knowing percent body fat tells you more about your body than any other test. It tells you what your correct weight ought to be, how much fat you have, how much muscle, and what exactly you need to gain or lose. Knowing this one number allows you to design an exercise program to maximize your efforts.
How Accurate Is This Body Fat Test?
This tape-measure test is used to estimate your percent body fat. It is usually quite accurate– so if a man got 17 percent from this test, he could expect his true percent body fat to be anywhere between 15 and 19 percent.
For some people, however, the results of the tape measure test may not come so close to their true percent body fat. People who are very, very fit can get numbers 3 to 5 percent higher than their true percent body fat. Because they don’t have a lot of fat inside their muscles, very fit people may be lower in body fat than this tape measure test indicates.
Conversely, if a person is skinny but not fit, this body fat test may yield a number 3 to 5 percent lower than his or her true percent body fat. Though they look thin, unfit skinny people really have more than the usual amount of fat inside their muscles, which you can’t see from the outside.
So, what’s the bottom line? For many people, this tape measure test is quite accurate, it puts you in control, it can be done frequently and it costs nothing.
The most valuable aspect is that you can test yourself and you can see change over time.
What Is A Healthy Amount Of Body Fat?
Depending on your race, recommended percent body fat may vary. Below is a chart of percent body fat found in different people, including the highest and lowest percents Covert has ever tested.
(Percent body fat found through the method of underwater immersion testing)
|
Men |
Women |
|
| Fattest Covert has tested |
55% |
68% |
| Average American |
22% |
32% |
| Healthy normal*: | ||
| African-American |
12% |
19% |
| Asian |
18% |
25% |
| Caucasian |
15% |
22% |
| Top Athletes |
3-12% |
10-18% |
| Leanest Covert has tested |
1% |
6% |
* The bones of African-Americans tend to be dense and so they sink easily in water. On the other hand, the bones of Asians are light and porous so they tend to float. To allow for these differences, healthy African-Americans should have a lower percent body fat than Asians and Caucasians, while Asians should have a higher percent body fat than African-Americans and Caucasians.
Remember to allow at least one month in between the times that you test. Spreading the tests across a period of time helps ensure that significant changes in your percent body fat are due to exercise and diet, rather than human error in body measurement.
Source
Bailey, Covert. The Ultimate Fit or Fat. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company. Copyright 1999
Now, use a cloth tape measure to measure the circumference of the areas listed below. Enter the numbers in the appropriate box.
Waist: in. Stand up straight, but don’t suck in your stomach. Measure the widest circumference.
Hips: in. Stand with your feet about 4 inches apart and measure the widest part of your hips.
For the remaining measurements use your dominant side. Measure the circumference of the areas listed below.
Forearm: 13in. Clench your fist so that your forearm is flexed. Measure the widest part between your wrist and elbow.
Calf: in. Place your weight on your dominant leg and measure your calf at its widest part – about half way between your knee and ankle.
Thigh: in. Stand with your feet about 12 inches apart. Measure your upper thigh at the widest part.
Wrist: 8 in. Measure in the dip between the bony part of your wrist and the start of your hand.
Your Results
You have 21.4% body fat.
You have 49.4 Pounds of fat and 181.6 Pounds of lean (muscle, bone, body water).