How To Calculate Body Fat Percentage

Do you know how to calculate your body fat percentage and why it is an important measure of your health? When you are trying to look slimmer by losing weight, it is more critical to lose body fats such that the amount of fats you have on your body is reduced compared to your muscle tissues. This way you will look more well toned and healthier as well as feel that way too.

Stop worrying too much about measuring your weight because it is your body fat percentage you should be more concerned with. Your body weight is not an accurate measure on the current level of your physical fitness.

Your body fat percentage is related to what is known as Body Mass Index, or BMI but it is different so do not get confused between these two calculations.

In simple terms, women should try and maintain an ideal body fat percentage range of around 21% to 31%, while professional athletics usually have 10% or less body fat percentage. For men who are exercising regularly and in grest shape and fitness, your ideal body fat percentage will be between 14% and 25%. Some male professional athletics have even body fat percentage as low as 2%.

To calculate your body fat percentage, first measure how much you weigh now in pounds and multiply by 703. Next, multiply your height in inches by itself, so in other words square your height.

Finally, divide the first value by the second one and that is how you calculate your body fat percentage. To illustrate, suppose I weigh 130 pounds and is 5'5" tall. My body fat percentage is then calculated as (130 x 703) / (65 x 65) = 24.95%. As mentioned in the previous paragraph, my body fat percentage falls in the middle of the ideal range for women so I am doing great so far maintaining an ideal body shape.

If you have been losing weight regularly but your body fat percentage is still higher than the ideal range, you probably need to adjust your diet and introduce more exercises into your weight slimming regime. There are also other ways and devices that can measure your body fat % but this quick calculation is simple and accurate enough for general purposes.

Remember that what you really want to lose is body fats which makes you look out of shape and feel sluggish. By knowing how to calculate your current body fat percentage, you will be able to know better whether your current diet and exercise routine is working or not.