How to Measure Body Fat at Home
Believe it or not, measuring body fat can actually be fun. That doesn't necessarily mean that you are going to like the results, but you don't exactly have to tell anyone either. The process involved with finding your body fat includes a little bit of leg-work and a couple of key tools.
Instructions
-
Digital Readings
-
1
Weigh yourself. Step on the scale first thing in the morning. Wear as little clothing as possible.
-
2
Purchase an analyzer. This is a battery operated digital machine that is held in the hands or stood on to read body fat. The hand held version costs around $60 (see Resources below).
-
-
3
Input your information. The digital screen will ask you for your age, weight, height, activity level and gender.
-
4
Wait for the readout. Now wrap your hands around the galvanized handles and extend your arms straight out in front of you. Press the start button and wait for about seven seconds. Your body fat percentage will now appear.
The Squeeze Is On
-
5
Get a caliper. A caliper is a hand-held device that you use to pinch various skin-fold areas on your body. These come in digital or regular versions and cost around $30.
-
6
Input your information. The digital skin-fold also requires that you input personal information. Follow the prompts and answer the questions. Unlike the body fat analyzer, this only asks for your age and gender.
-
7
Locate your skin-folds. The screen will ask you for three different skin-folds. They are up, mid and low. The upper is the chest area in between the nipple and the shoulder in a diagonal line. The mid is the area in between the umbilicus and pelvic bone, and the low is on the front of the thigh.
-
8
Get yourself pinched. This is where an assistant comes in. Have him do the skin-folds for you. Find the location of the fold, pinch the area with the finger and thumb and place the caliper about 1 centimeter under it. (He should be pinching the skin with one hand and using the caliper with the other.) As he is pinching the skin with the caliper, have him press the button on the top pinching arm. It will make a beep sound. Then do the same for the mid and the lower. The results will then appear.
-
9
Track your results. Write down all of your results so you have something with which to compare future results. Make sure to write down the date, and the best rule of thumb is to check every four weeks.
-
10
Use a manual caliper. There are also manual calipers available that work in similar fashion. One such tool is called an AccuMeasure. To use this caliper, you pinch the same three locations as the digital caliper. Then you add these numbers together and cross reference them to the chart that comes with it. This then gives you your body fat percentage (see Resources below).
-
1
Tips & Warnings
When doing the skin-fold method, women have a different location for the upper fold. It is done on the back of the upper arm (the middle of the triceps). When making the skin-fold, with the non-caliper fingers, place them about 3 inches apart, then pinch the skin. Whenever you do follow-up measurements always do them the exact same way, at the same time, under the exact same variables. When doing skin-folds, always do them on the right side of the body.
There are some external factors that can alter body fat measurements. These are fluid intake, caffeine, timing of meals and high amounts of sodium. Take these into consideration when calculating your body fat.
