Have body fat measured

Content

• Why have body fat measured?
• The ideal body fat percentage (KFA)
  
• Body fat measurement by calipometry
  
• Bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA, "body fat scale")
• DEXA scan
• Hydrostatic weighing
• Air displacement plethysmography ("Bodpod")

Our body needs fat because it primarily provides us with energy - a full nine calories per gram of body fat. In addition, fat is an important building block for hormones, and vitamins A, D, E and K can only be absorbed by the body if they are dissolved in fat. In addition, fat has an important protective function in our body by protecting the internal organs from external impacts such as blows and shocks. In addition, our fat insulates the physical heat to prevent freezing.

But how much fat should you consume and how does this affect your individual body fat percentage? Our fat requirement depends on different factors such as age, body type and gender. In general, the German Nutrition Society (DGE) recommends a daily requirement of 60 to 80 grams of fat. The excess fats, which are above your daily requirement, are not excreted by the body, but stored as body fat. In addition, excess energy in the form of carbohydrates is also converted into fat by the body and stored in our fat cells. 

Why have body fat measured?

Body fat as a percentage of total body mass is a good indicator of your diet progress as well as your training level. Most people simply step on the scale every day to track their progress, but your body weight alone is only half the story. Because the number on the scale doesn't give you any information about the percentage of body fat and other values such as muscle and water, which ultimately make up your total weight. Since fat tissue has about 4 times the volume of muscle tissue at the same weight, the composition of the body actually plays a much greater role in appearance and health than pure weight. A lighter weight does not necessarily mean less fat, but can also be due to muscle breakdown, for example. For this reason, it makes much more sense to measure body fat percentage than just weight. In this article we will give you more information about the best, easiest and most accurate way to measure your body fat.

The ideal body fat percentage (KFA)

Both too little and too much body fat is unhealthy, which is why your body fat percentage should not exceed or fall below certain guideline values. Too much body fat can have consequences such as obesity, high blood pressure and heart attacks. But even too little body fat is not healthy for the body. Particularly in women, too little body fat can alter the metabolism and throw the hormone balance out of kilter. This results in symptoms such as the absence of menstruation or low bone density. So is there a body fat percentage you should aim for? The essential body fat percentage, which you should not underestimate for your own health, is 10-13% for women and 2-5% for men. Athletes should aim for a fat percentage of 14-20% (women) and 6-13% (men), while the recommended KFA for all people actively involved in fitness is 21-24% for women and 14-17% for men. 25-31% for women and 18-24% for men is still within the acceptable range from a health perspective. Anything above this, from 32% (women) and 25% (men), is classified as very overweight (obese). However, these are still very general values. The exact KFA you should aim for should be considered in an individual context, as it depends on your own state of health and personal goals such as aesthetics or athletic performance. 

Have body fat measured: These are the best methods

Body fat measurement by calipometry

Calipometry is a simple and quick method for calculating your body fat percentage. With a so-called caliper forceps, the skin fold thickness is measured at different body parts. This measurement can be done e.g. by your doctor, your personal trainer, your coach in the gym or also the nutrition counselor. The thickness of the skin fold indicates how much fatty tissue is under the skin. With the help of these values, the body fat percentage of the entire body can then be determined.

The skin fold measurement involves pinching a skin fold with your thumb and index finger and then measuring its thickness with a body fat caliper. The principle is simple: the thicker the folds, the higher your body fat percentage. Depending on the measurement method, this measurement is taken at 1, 3, 5, or 7 places on your body. The more places you measure, the more accurate the measurement. For most people, however, a 1-point or 3-point measurement is perfectly adequate. The 3 recommended measurement points for women are the triceps, hips, and thighs, while for men, the chest, abdomen, and thighs are the preferred measurement points. 

Now let's talk about the advantages and disadvantages of caliper measurement. The advantages are that the measurement is accurate, reliable and cheap. In addition, the caliper works regardless of what you have eaten or drunk before. A disadvantage is that the measurement should always be performed by the same, experienced person to avoid deviations. This can ensure that the measurement is taken in exactly the same place each time, as it is easier to slip when taking the measurement on your own body. In addition, skinfold measurement tends to work better for slim people, such as men under 15% and women under 25% KFA. This is because this method can only measure the subcutaneous fat and not the visceral fat lying around the organs. 

Conclusion: Skinfold measurement with caliper pliers is a simple and effective method to determine your body fat percentage with simple home remedies. However, depending on the KFA, it is not suitable for all groups of people.

Bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA, "body fat scale")

Many scales can not only measure weight, but are also able to calculate body fat percentage. Bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) involves sending a weak alternating current through your body to measure electrical resistance. Since different tissues such as fat or muscle cells conduct differently, your body composition can then be estimated, i.e. how high the proportions of body fat and lean muscle mass are in your body. 

If you want to measure your body fat percentage with a BIA scale at home, you should consider the following. Firstly, you should always weigh yourself under the same conditions. This means always at the same time (e.g. in the morning) and always after going to the toilet, with dry feet and without clothes. Since fluctuations are quite natural, it is also important to look at the KFA average. To do this, measure your KFA in 9-day intervals and calculate the arithmetic mean of these days. This will give you the average value for this period. 

The clear advantages of bioelectrical impedance analysis are that this measurement is super easy to perform and most scales with BIA function are also not particularly expensive. In addition, unlike the Caliper pliers, this method can also be used for people with a higher KFA. The disadvantage is that the measurement results can be unreliable, for example, due to strong fluctuations with the water balance of your body. Therefore, as mentioned above, it is important to take the average value. In addition, the measurement via the feet actually only measures the legs correctly, since the current does not reach the upper half of the body at all. However, this problem can be improved by body fat measuring devices that have electrodes for feet AND hands. This will then also measure the fat percentage of the arms and upper body more precisely. 

Conclusion: The bioelectrical impedance analysis is not quite as flexible to use as the Caliper measurement, since here more precise attention must be paid to the time of the measurement as well as the condition of the body. Nevertheless, this measurement method is recommended especially for people with a high body fat percentage (>15 kg overweight), because in this case the Caliper forceps are not used. For slim people, the BIA measurement is usually rather inaccurate.

DEXA scan

DEXA stands for Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry. This method is the most accurate way to measure body fat percentage. The DEXA scan can accurately distinguish your bone, muscle and fat tissue. This allows the DEXA scan to determine your exact body fat percentage and also how exactly the fat is distributed over your body. Since the X-rays used are very low doses, the procedure is also very safe and harmless. The advantage of DEXA measurement is that it is very accurate. The disadvantage is mainly that the measurement takes only about 20 minutes, but is relatively expensive at 50-70 euros. In addition, it is a one-time measurement, which is why your diet progress cannot be tracked so well with this method - unless you regularly have the time and money for a scan. 

Conclusion: For a bodybuilding competition or simply out of curiosity, one can already perform a DEXA body fat scan. However, in view of the costs and the effort involved, a DEXA measurement is not absolutely necessary; the caliper pliers are sufficient here.

Air displacement plethysmography ("Bodpod")

This fast and reliable measurement method measures the air displacement through the body (instead of water displacement) and then calculates the composition in your body. This measurement method is mainly offered by sports and nutrition physicians. To perform it, you need to sit in a closed cabin. Through the air that your body displaces inside this capsule, the proportion of fat, bone and muscle in your body can be calculated exactly. However, this is also more of a "luxury" method, which is not necessarily suitable for everyday use.