How to Measure Body Fat
To measure your body fat you'll need to take a few measurements from your body. It's important to be as accurate with these measurements as possible so please don't use approximate figures.
Once you've taken the measurements, either in inches or centimetres, you can enter them into the Calculator below. The calculator uses the U.S. Navy Circumference Method and:
- for men requires Height, Neck & Waist measurements
- for women requires Height, Neck, Waist & Hip measurements
Height: taken without shoes
Neck: taken below the larynx sloping slightly downward at the front
Waist: for men at navel height, for women at the smallest point
Hips: (women only) at the largest point
After getting your Body Fat % from the calculator above you can use the following table to see what body fat band you fall into.
Women |
Men |
|
| Essential Fat | 10-12% |
2-4% |
| Athletes | 14-20% |
6-13% |
| Fitness | 21-24% |
14-17% |
| Acceptable | 25-31% |
18-25% |
| Obese | 32% or more |
26% or more |
Body Fat Calculator Formula
For men, all measurements in inches:
%Fat = 86.010*LOG(abdomen - neck) - 70.041*LOG(height) + 36.76
For men, all measurements in centimeters:
%Fat = 86.010*LOG(abdomen - neck) - 70.041*LOG(height) + 30.30
For women, all measurements in inches:
%Fat = 163.205*LOG(abdomen + hip - neck) - 97.684*LOG(height) - 78.387
For women, all measurements in centimeters:
%Fat = 163.205*LOG(abdomen + hip - neck) - 97.684*LOG(height) - 104.912