Body Fat Calculator

Explore Everyday Health Body Fat Calculator
No doubt the number on the scale is important, but so is knowing your percentage of body fat. By itself, body fat is not the enemy: After all, body fat serves a purpose. It stores energy, controls body temperature, and protects organs. The problem is excess body fat, which leads to obesity. Overweight or obese individuals are atincreased risk for health conditions like heart disease, diabetes, osteoarthritis, breast cancer, prostate cancer, and several other cancers.Using a body-fat calculator can help you determine whether you’reoverweight or obese and at risk for these health conditions, and then spur you to take action to get healthy.There are many methods of calculating body fat. You can take measurements, get the formula, and then do the math with pencil and paper. Or you take a shortcut and use an online tool, such as the My Calorie Counter Body Fat Calculator, based on the U.S. Navy Circumference Method, which tallies your body-fat percentage using the measurements of your neck, waist, and hips along with your height and gender. With this information you'll have a solid knowledge of your body-fat percentage.Another way to determine the percentage of your body fat is to use measurements of a device called a body-fat caliper, which measures fat on the chest, biceps, abdomen, thigh, calf, triceps, waist, hips, and lower back and then calculates your overall body fat. Still another way is to use a body-fat scale, a device that passes a harmless current through your body to determine your body-fat percentage.Doctors may use other, more-complex methods of measuring body fat. Some of the most popular of these are: DEXA (Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry) which uses x-rays to scan the body; NIR (Near Infrared Interactance), a process where a fiber-optic tool is used to determine body fat composition; and Hydrodensitometry Weighing, which requires comparing the weight of someone in - and out - of water.Still, the simplest tool is the Body Fat Calculator, which we provide on My Calorie Counter. It follows the U.S. Navy Circumference Method, along with guidelines from the World Health Organization and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This is how the My Calorie Counter Body Fat Calculator works:Be sure to take your measurements as accurately as possible. Get someone to help if you can.• Use a cloth measuring tape.
• Be sure to measure your height with your shoes off.
• Measure the circumference of the neck from below the larynx with the tape sloping slightly down to the front.
• Women should measure their hips around the widest point.
• Finally, the NIH recommends that the best way to measure your waist size is to stand, then exhale completely, and place the tape measure around your middle, just above the hips.So now that you've determined your body-fat percentage using the My Calorie Counter Body Fat Calculator, what should you do? Consult with My Calorie Counter’s Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) Calculator to see how many calories you need to eat. If you’re looking to lower your body-fat percentage, try the NIH's tips for lowering your body-fat percentage. It recommends following a healthy eating plan, focusing on portion size, being active, regularly measuring your BMI, and taking a break from the TV or computer.You'll find great tools to help control and track your weight on My Calorie Counter. In addition to using our calculators to learn your basal metabolic rate and body-fat percentage, you can also use the site’s Body Mass Index Calculator to easily determine your body mass index. You'll have all the basic starting information at hand so you won't need to waste another minute before beginning your weight-loss journey.Body Fat Percentage Charts for Females and MalesAgeUnderweightHealthy RangeOverweightObeseAgeUnderweightHealthy RangeOverweightObese* Source - World Health Organization and National Institutes of Health