How do you measure up?

by Jen Foley, MVHNews fitness blogger

Last week I talked about BMI (body mass index) and this week I want to share with you how you can measure your body fat. Lets get this out of the way: We all have body fat! From the elite athletes to the models/actors you see in the magazines. Now the question comes, is my lean muscle-to-body-fat ratio right for my body?

Women generally have a higher percentage of body fat compared to men and there are many reasons for that. One is biological. “Body fat content is 25% for women at normal size compared to 15% for men. All other things being equal, such as age and exercise levels, women require fewer calories per pound of body weight daily than do men. Female hormones make it easier to convert fat into food.” Source: Medincine.net

The American Council on Exercise provides this chart:

 

	Women	Men
Essential fat	10-12%	2-4%
Athletes	14-20%	6-13%
Fitness	21-24%	14-17%
Acceptable	25-31%	18-25%
Overweight	32-41%	26-37%
Obese	42%+	38%+

Essential fat: the amount every body needs to function.
Athletes: have more muscle and less body fat due to exceptional fitness.
Fitness: the range of fat on a normally fit person.
Acceptable: you’re not at your top fitness level but you’re not overweight either.
Overweight and Obese: you’re carrying way too much body fat and you’re at risk for heart disease, diabetes, cancer and other health problems.

So I do I measure where I am?

1. The old-fashioned way. When your pants feel tight and your shirt gaps, that’s a clue: something’s up.  Step on the scale and pull out the tape measure and measure your waist circumference.  The National Institute of Health says health risks go up with a waist measurement over 40 inches in men and 35 inches in women.
2. BMI is a useful measure of our true weight status. It is calculated from your height and weight. It is very important to know our true weight and the best way to measure our status is by numbers. View BMI chart here.
3. Skin Fold Calipers:  Calipers are measuring tools available at the gym or doctor’s office that measure skin folds on various body parts to calculate total body fat. This test is available through Quad City YMCAs.
4. Underwater (Hydrostatic) weighing:  Considered a more accurate but more expensive and inconvenient method, this procedure is usually done at medical or university research facilities or sometimes at high-end exercise facilities.  The basic idea is that fat floats while bone and muscle sink.
5. Bioelectrical impedance:  This high-tech method is available at medical research facilities, high-end fitness centers and your bathroom.  A small amount of harmless electrical current is delivered through the body to calculate total body water in lean tissue and muscle.  Fat contains no water so body fat percentage is based on the difference between your body weight and lean tissue.  Results can be inaccurate in people who are dehydrated, over-hydrated, morbidly obese, aged or those with very low muscle mass.  This test is also available at local YMCA’s for a small fee.
6. DEXA (dual energy X-ray absorptiometry ) This test is used to measure bone density, but it also measures body fat percentage as well as where most of your fat is. The facts about DEXA: DEXA uses a whole body scanner and two different low-dose x-rays to read bone mass and soft tissue mass. – It takes about 10-20 minutes to do a body scan-It provides a high degree of precision with a 2-3 % margin of error. This is considered a gold standard for measuring body fat and bone density. It’s painless. Check with your doctor to see if this is right for you and call your insurance company as they may cover it. The cost is usually about $100.

Jen Foley is the Healthy Lifestyles Director at the Two Rivers YMCA, Moline.  Jen majored in Therapeutic Recreation at the University of Tennessee and Gerontology at Sonoma State University. She lives in Davenport with her husband, Tim and their two pugs Jack and Lucy. She enjoys having an active lifestyle and helping others achieve their goals.For a listing of all of Jen’s blog posts, click here.