If you don’t have a cloth measuring tape, you can purchase a MyoTape Body Tape Measure (affiliate link), which I’m using to measure my waist in the picture to the right. Navy Method calculator is available on this website where you can input your measurements on right hand column. Navy method takes waist, neck, and height circumference for men and hips, neck, and height for women.Ī U.S. This method uses body circumference measurements to estimate body fat percentages. BIA readings for those with low body fat tend to be completely inaccurate. If you have a high body fat percentage (calipers can’t fit around your fat pinch), or you have 35+ pounds to lose, start with BIA, then move to calipers.
If you can’t use calipers, this is a far second option.
Because the BIA test is based on body water balance, your state of hydration can impact the level of accuracy. Many consumer weight scales like Tanita Body Fat Monitor Scale (affiliate link) also come with BIA capabilities, and there are others that require holding the BIA device in your hands. Based on the strength of the impedance along with height and weight metrics, the BIA scale will estimate fat-free body mass and body fat percentage. Muscle has high water content, and is highly conductive, while fat has lower water content and is not highly conductive. Bioelectric Impedance Analysisīioelectric Impedance Analysis, or BIA, determines the electrical impedance, or opposition to the flow of an electric current through the body. The self-administered Accumeasure Body Fat Caliper (affiliate link) retails for under $10 and is sufficient for most people.
Skin Fold is hands down the most effective, accurate, practical method to measure and track your body fat percentage. For people 35+ pounds overweight, fat may not fit within caliper, so it’s less accurate.
I have an overview of the 5 most common methods of how to measure body fat percentage below, along with the ONLY method to perfectly measure body fat percentage. So how do you track if you are losing fat, or muscle, or both? Aside from weighing yourself weekly and maintaining strength levels as a good barometer, measuring your body fat percentage can be useful. Note that as of January 2016 the US Navy has made the body fat percentage requirements a bit looser and more age graduated, taking into account changes that occur as the body ages.If you’ve been following BuiltLean, you know losing fat WITHOUT losing muscle is the path to get lean.
Check out the Help section of the app for the juicy references to the original research papers! While not one of the most accurate methods of measuring body fat percentage (it is an estimate, after all) it is in close agreement with sophisticated body composition analysis methods. The next release will present this data using fancy colorful graphs, so stay tuned! Handy to see changes in lean weight and body fat percentage over time. Give it a try! This is a simple Beta release, but a lot of features are in the pipeline, and with your valuable feedback we can prioritize those features that you want the most.Īll your calculations to date can be displayed by tapping “History” on the menu. The Navy Body Fat Percentage Calculator app helps you easily plug your body circumference measurements into the formula commonly known as the ‘Navy method’, long used by the US Navy as part of its fitness readiness test (FRT) and body composition assessment (BCA).Īll you need is a tape measure, and the circumference reading of two (or three) sites in your body: your neck and your waist, and also your hips, if you’re a woman.