A rapid way to determine your percent body fat is simply to use a tape measure. You should make all measurements on bare skin (not through clothing), and make sure that the tape fits snugly but does not compress the skin and underlying tissue. Take all measurements three times and calculate the average. All measurements should be in inches.
Calculating Body-Fat Percentages for Females
There are five steps you must take to calculate your percentage of body fat:
- While keeping the tape level, measure your hips at their widest point, and your waist at the umbilicus (i.e., belly button). It is critical that you measure at the belly button and not at the narrowest point of your waist. Take each of these measurements three times and compute the average.
- Measure your height in inches without shoes.
- Record your height, waist, and hip measurements on the accompanying worksheet.
- Find each of these measurements in the appropriate column in the accompanying tables and record the constants on the worksheet.
- Add constants A and B, then subtract constant C for this sum and round to the nearest whole number. That figure is your percentage of body fat.
Conversion Constants for Calculation of Percentage of Body Fat in Females
Worksheet for Women to Calculate Their Percentage of Body Fat
Average hip measurement __________ (used for constant A)
Average abdomen measurement __________ (used for constant B)
Height __________ (used for constant C)
Using the table on pages 380 and 381, look up each of the average measurements and your height in the appropriate column.
Constant A = __________
Constant B = __________
Constant C = __________
To determine your approximate percentage of body fat, add constants A and B. From that total, subtract constant C. The result is your percentage of body fat, as shown below.
(Constant A + Constant B) - Constant C = % Body Fat
Calculating Body-Fat Percentages for Men
There are four steps you must take to determine your body-fat percentage:
- While keeping the tape level, measure the circumference of your waist at the umbilicus (i.e., belly button). Measure three times and compute the average.
- Measure your wrist at the space between your dominant hand and your wrist bone, at the location where your wrist bends.
- Record these measurements on the worksheet for men.
- Subtract your wrist measurement from your waist measurement and find the resulting value listed in the table. On the left-hand side of this table, find your weight. Proceed to the right from your weight and down from your waist-minus-wrist measurement. Where these two points intersect, read your body fat percentage.
Worksheet for Men to Calculate Their Percentage of Body Fat
Average waist measurement __________ (inches)
Average wrist measurement __________ (inches)
Subtract the wrist measurement from the waist measurement. Use the table starting on page 384 to find your weight. Then find your “waist minus wrist” number. Where the two columns intersect is your approximate percentage of body fat.
Male Percentage Body Fat Calculations
