How to measure body fat percentage without tools

Body fat cannot be seen from the size or shape of a person's body, because not all thin people are free of fat. it could be that in a thin person, there is a pile of fat that they are not aware of - because they only see the small size of the body. Fat in general is needed by the body, especially as an energy reserve. However, its presence that is too much in the body will of course endanger your health.

There have been many studies that have shown that a large amount of fat in the body causes heart disease, diabetes mellitus, and interferes with liver function. Therefore, it is important for you to monitor the levels of fat in your body. Then how do you measure body fat? Do you have to use special tools?

How do you measure body fat levels?

Indeed, to know body fat levels with certainty and accuracy, you must have special equipment. However, if you don't have it, don't be disappointed, you can still find out how much body fat you are using the body fat prediction formula. then how?

1. Calculate body mass index

First of all, what you need to prepare is a weight scale, a height measuring instrument, a writing tool for notes, and a calculator. Previously, you must first know the value of your body mass index (BMI), aka your Body Mass Index (BMI). Body mass index is a standard measure of a person's nutritional status in terms of height and weight. Next, all you need to do is measure your height and weight using existing tools to calculate your BMI.

However, if you already know your weight and height at that time, you can immediately find out the amount of BMI, which can be seen in the formula here. Or you can also immediately find out your BMI by calculating it using a calculator on line.

2. Calculating body fat levels

Based on a predictive formula obtained from a study published in the British Journal of Nutrition, you can enter your BMI value to determine your body fat levels. The following is the prediction formula for the percentage of fat in the body:

Male: (1.20 x BMI) + (0.23 x Age) - 10.8 - 5.4
Female: (1.20 x BMI) + (0.23 x Age) - 5.4

For example, if you are a woman who is 20 years old and about 160 cm tall and weighs 55 kg, then your BMI is 21.4 m / kg2. So that if you put it into the formula, your body fat content will be obtained, which is 24.88%. Indeed, this is only a prediction formula, so it is not necessarily 100% accurate. But this way, you can find out the range of fat levels that cause all the creases in your body.

What percentage of body fat is considered normal?

In fact, the percent you get from the calculation indicates how much total fat you have in proportion to all your organs and body fluids. The body's natural fat is about 10-12% in women and 2-4% in men. The rest, you get the fats from the food and drinks that you consume daily.

Then what percentage of total normal fat is owned by a healthy body? The American Council determines the normal limits for body fat percent as follows:

Athletes, have a total fat of about 14-20% in female athletes and 6-13% in male athletes
People who often exercise, but not athletes usually have fat levels of 21-24% in women and 14-17% in men
People who rarely exercise but the total fat is still considered normal and healthy if they have fat ranging from 25-31% in women and 18-25% in men

Meanwhile, someone has been declared obese if the fat level has exceeded 32% for women and more than 26% for men. In addition, this group is also very susceptible to chronic diseases such as heart attack, coronary heart disease, stroke, diabetes mellitus, and other diseases.