How to Calculate Skinfold Calipers

Measuring your body fat through the use of calipers and the 7 skin fold sites is one of the most effective ways to track your progress.

Measuring your total body fat percentage is one of the best possible ways to track your fitness and/or weight loss progress. Since the number on the scale can fluctuate based on many different factors, such as water retention and the addition of muscle mass, measuring your body fat is the most reliable method of tracking progress. By using calipers, which are relatively inexpensive, the help of another person, and learning what skin fold sites to measure, you will be able to obtain your total overall body fat percentage fairly easily.

Things You'll Need

• Skin-fold calipers
• Another person
• Writing utensil
• Paper
• Calculator

Instructions

Measuring the Skin Fold Sites

1. Locate the seven skin fold sites:

   Chest (men-directly between nipple and armpit / women-a third of the way between nipple and armpit)

   Midaxilary (area directly below center of armpit, below nipple)

   Subprailiac (about an inch above the top of your hipbone)

   Abdominal (about an inch above bellybutton)

   Thigh (between knee and hip)

   Tricep (the back, mid area of arm between shoulder and elbow)

   Subscapular (just below the shoulder blade)

2. While standing, your partner will take the different measurements, positioning the calipers in the proper direction, and taking the measurements from the same side of the body.

   Chest (a diagonal pinch)

   Midaxilary (a vertical pinch)

   Subprailiac (a diagonal pinch)

   Abdominal (a vertical pinch)

   Thigh (a vertical pinch)

   Tricep (a vertical pinch)

   Subscapular (a vertical pinch)

3. Have your partner pinch the skin at each of the skin fold sites, getting a good grip of the fat, not the muscle. The pinch should feel relatively uncomfortable.

4. Keeping the fingers pinching the skin fold site, place the calipers approximately half of an inch between the tip of the fingers and top of the skin fold. Record the measurement.

5. Repeat this process for each of the sites. To ensure accuracy, perform this process three times and use the average the three measurements of each site as your main value.

Calculating Your Body Fat Percentage

1. Now that you have recorded the skin fold measurements, you can calculate your total body fat percentage using a calculator or by plugging your values into an online calculator.

2. Start by adding all of the seven skin fold measurements (recorded in mm) together.

3. Begin by calculating your bone density by using Jackson-Pollock's equation, and then plugging that value into the body fat equation. The formula for men and women is different, so be sure to use the correct one.

   Men - Bone Density:
   1.112 - (0.00043499 X SUM OF SKIN FOLD MEASUREMENTS) + (0.00000055 X SUM OF SKIN FOLD MEASUREMENTS²) -(0.00028826 X YOUR AGE)

   Men - Body Fat:
   [ (4.95 / Bone Density) - 4.5 ] X 100

   Women - Bone Density:
   1.097 - (0.00046971 X SUM OF SKIN FOLD MEASUREMENTS) +
   (0.00000056 X SUM OF SKIN FOLD MEASUREMENTS²) - (0.00012828 X AGE)

   Women - Body Fat:
   [ (4.95 / Bone Density) - 4.5] X 100

4. Plug in the correct values, and you will have your total body fat percentage. Again, having access to an online body fat calculator will simplify the process immensely, saving you the work of performing these calculations. With online calculators, you simply enter the seven measurements (in mm) and submit it to find your body fat percentage.

References

• The Build Muscle and Gain Weight Fast Guide: How To Take Skinfold Measurements and Calculate Body Fat Percentage

Resources

• Online Body Fat Percentage Calculator