How to Measure Body Fat Percentage

Body fat percentage is an important aspect of your health.  You may be perfectly healthy according to measures such as BMI (body mass index), but, if you have a low muscle amount, but a high amount of fat, a good BMI number doesn’t mean something.  Knowing your body fat percentage can definitely give you a leg up in setting proper fitness goals.  Let’s take a look at how body fat percentages are measured.

First off, there are two pretty new methods that are non-invasive.  There is the method that includes shooting an infra-red light beam into the biceps and noting how it travels and scatters.  Since infra-red light travels differently through bones, muscle, and fat, this gives an accurate picture of overall body fat percentage.  There is also the x-ray technique, in which different x-rays are put through the body and the different ways they pass through fatty tissue are used to make the calculation.

You probably aren’t likely to find either of the previous techniques at your local gym, however.  Let me tell you about the way they tested me a few years ago.  There is another technique known as bio-electric impedance analysis.  In this technique, a technician passes a small current through the body.  The current travels through the different tissues in different ways and can be analyzed easily.

Finally, there is the body density test, one of the best, but most annoying, if you ask me.   The different tissues in the body are of different densities, and this can be measured by taking a density test.  That means getting in a large tub of water and measuring how much water is displaced.  But, after a few calculations, it will give you a good idea of what your body fat percentage is.

Knowing more about yourself can make your exercising a higher priority and more focused.  Consider getting a body fat percentage test to kick-start your exercising.