4 Ways to Measure Your Body Fat
How do you measure your body fat? Body fat is the volume of fat in your body when you equate it to muscles, organs, bones, tendons, water and other parts of the body. To stay healthy and reduce the chances of cardiovascular diseases and others, you should reduce your body fat levels to the recommended body fat percentages of 25% - 31% in women and 18% - 25% in men. It is highly advisable to carry out body fat measurement regularly in a bid in to stay healthy. If you need help on doing this, below are some practical ways to do it:
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Compare Yourself to a Body Weighing Chart
This is actually one of the easiest methods of measuring your body fat. All that is required of you is to take a picture of yourself and compare it to a chart. If you are very keen about this, you can accurately measure your body fat percentage. If you encounter problems making a correct estimation, you should ask someone else to do it for you.
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Use Body Fat Calipers
To use these units, you would be required to pinch your fat with your fingers and then measure the thickness of the pinched area with the fat caliper. Some calipers will require you to measure the thickness in one part while others will require that you measure it in different parts of the body. The readings on the caliper are in millimetres, and you are expected to compare your readings to a chart (that has your age and gender) in order to find your body fat percentage.
The good news about these body fat calipers is that they are cost effective; therefore you can purchase one at a cheap price and keep in your home. Also, they are very accurate. To use calipers effectively, it is highly recommended that you get the ones that only require you to measure one test area.
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Use DEXA Scan
DEXA (which is an acronym for Dual Energy X-ray absorptiometry) is a highly accurate body fat testing method. It determines how fat is distributed in the various parts of the body. It requires you to use a body scanner with low dose x-rays; so no worries about getting exposed to high x-ray levels. Aside from its accuracy, it is also fast because it takes only 10-20 minutes to complete. You can just drop by at the hospital after work or on your way to the market, get the test done and get on with your usual daily activities.
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Hydrostatic Weighing
This method is referred to as the gold standard of body fat measurement. To determine your body fat levels, you have to immerse yourself in a dedicated water tank. Because bones and muscles are denser in water, you will weigh more in water if your body fat percentage is low. Conversely, you will be weighing less in water if your percentage is higher. For a more accurate result, you should blow out all the air in your lungs before weighing yourself. The time duration for the test is around 20-30 minutes, and it is available in medical labs, hospitals, and universities.
Final Conclusion
There are different ways of testing your body fat, so there is no reason to worry that your body might be increasing in body fat. To be on a cool side, choose a method that you can have in your home and which is also affordable.
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