Making sure to regularly measure body fat is a much better indicator of health than simple weight measurements. For this reason, many people desire to get readings of their percentage of fat at least once, and many prefer to make it a regular part of their health checks.
The traditional measurement of proper weight is simply overall weight. But this measurement includes all the tissues of the body, not just fat, which is the part in question. Because muscle is heavier than fat, people with different amounts of natural muscle, as well as those who purposefully develop their muscles versus those who do not, will weigh different amounts at healthy weights.
Getting a fat measurement is a much more precise way to determine the weight loss (or more precisely, fat loss) required to reach a healthy level. Being at a healthy fat percentage means that your weight is healthy, no matter what it is. Typically, the recommendations are that women have no more than 25-30 percent fat, and men have no more than 20-25%. Age is the major determining factor in deciding what the appropriate upper level is.
The most common way to measure body fat at home is to use a scale that attempts to figure it out for you. These scales use a very low electric current to divine your fat content, and provide it on the readout next to your weight. This works because electricity travels at different speeds through fat, muscle, water, and the other tissues of the body, and the scale can then interpret these speeds into a readout. These scales are not particularly accurate, but they can be used as a general indicator of your fat percentage.
Professionals sometimes use calipers to measure skin (and fat) folds at various locations and then compare the thicknesses to a chart. It’s important that these measurements be taken by professionals because the location of the skin folds used is very important in making sure that the results are accurate. This method is more accurate than the scales, if done properly.
A very precise measure of fat percentage, the most accurate possible for living people, is the water density test. Using a tank of water and specialized equipment, trained professionals determine the percentage of fat on a person’s body by using the density of water, muscle, fat and other components of the human form. The proper equipment and personnel is relatively rare, however, and thus this test is hard to get for most.
With the prevalence of obesity in the developed world these days, fat percentage tests are usually used to get an idea of how much a person needs to lose. But they can also be utilized for determining if a person is unhealthily thin. The minimum levels considered safe for health are 8 percent for men and 12 percent for women, with some wiggle room for extremely athletic people.
It’s a good idea to measure body fat if you are concerned with yours. Your fat percentage is much more important than your overall weight in determining your health, so it’s generally a good thing to know. Many clinics and other health centers will perform this service, either for free on certain days, or for a small fee.
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