Body Fat Percentage Calculator: Your Keep-Fit Companion

A body fat percentage calculator isn't just for athletes. This is an ideal companion for anybody concerned with getting fit and staying healthy.

Why You Should Use One

A body fat percentage calculator lets you calculate how much fat you've actually lost. When you're sticking to your work out religiously, it can be frustrating if you feel you're not making any progress. By using a body fat calculator, you might be pleasantly surprised.

If you just weigh yourself on scales, you're weighing muscle as well. Building up muscle is great, but it will cause you to be heavier even though you're healthier. For example, you could think you've only lost 10 pounds when in fact you actually lost 30 pounds of fat but gained 20 pounds of muscle.

How It Works

First of all, you need to take a number of body measurements. These include not only your height and weight but also your waist, neck, and, if you're female, your hips. This is what the body fat percentage calculator will use in order to calculate your body fat.

How much percentage is healthy depends on your sex. For women, a healthy percentage is between 14 and 17 percent. Females who score 30 percent or more are considered obese. For men, 14 to 17 percent is ideal. Obesity in men is 20 percent or more. Competitive athletes, regardless of gender, aim for 6 to 13 percent.

Maintaining a Healthy Weight

A body fat chart is a great way to see how healthy you really are. It's what you refer to when you want to calculate body fat. This is a tool

used by professional nutritionists and other health experts to figure out if a patient is overweight or not.

Once you've calculated your body fat using a body fat percentage calculator, you can refer to the chart. Men and women have different charts due to the fact that they contain different levels of fat when healthy. In general, the chart has five columns: essential fat, obese, acceptable, fitness, and athletes. A number of charts will contain age bracket, obese, overweight, healthy, and underweight. If you check down a column, you'll find the percentages. You can then use your body fat figure and see which column it's under.

The best column to be under is fitness. But if you want to be truly toned, you should be headed for the athlete column. But, aiming for the average percentage is ideal. If you're overweight, you can see that you need to shed a few pounds. If you fall under the obese column, you need to seriously consider the next steps you should take to lose weight.