HOW TO CALCULATE THE PERCENTAGE OF BODY FAT

Surely you have ever heard of body fat percentage, burning and losing fat. But perhaps you have never stopped to think about how much fat you should have for a healthy body.

Normally, the mistake of looking at weight to see physical condition is made when, in reality, in most cases (especially in athletes) the percentage of fat is more important. When we talk about fat, we refer to both visceral and subcutaneous fat, as well as intermuscular fat.

If you do not understand very well all this that we are talking about, keep reading because in the next post we will tell you what body fat is and how you can calculate it.

WHAT IS BODY FAT PERCENTAGE?

The percentage of body fat is an indicative measure of weight, which helps distinguish muscle mass from fat matter that is present in the composition of the body. This percentage will depend on the age, sex, weight and lifestyle of each person.

Fat is part of the body as is water, bone or muscle. Therefore, fat is necessary, and it is beneficial for building tissues and for the production and regulation of many hormones. In addition, it constitutes the largest energy reserve of the body and is what saves us in case of lack of nutrition.

Excessive fat reduction can be dangerous and incompatible with life. However, excess fat can be a factor in obesity and can give rise to an inflammatory process and associated diseases. The key is to keep your body fat percentage at a normal and balanced level.

There are different types of fats in the body:

• Hard or visceral fat: this accumulates around the abdominal organs, and is more difficult to eliminate. It is also more harmful, as it is associated with pathologies such as bad cholesterol, increased blood pressure and hypertension, in addition to the fact that it can promote diabetes. This type of fat is more common in men than in women.
• Soft, subcutaneous or peripheral fat: in this case it is the fat deposits in the skin. It is not stored around the organs, but in a more superficial area of the body. It is less harmful than visceral fat and is easier to lose. It is usually more common in women, since they are the ones who tend to accumulate more fat in the hips and buttocks. This subcutaneous fat also insulates against climatic factors.
• Intermuscular fat: It is found between the fibers of the muscles and the amount is very small compared to subcutaneous and visceral fat. It has a tendency to increase with advancing age, both in men and women. It is not usually necessary to remove it unless it causes health problems.

WHY IS FAT PERCENTAGE MORE IMPORTANT THAN WEIGHT?

The weight indicated by the scale is not everything and in the case of athletes, the BMI (Body Mass Index) is not enough to measure the real muscle mass.

On many occasions, when people say they want to lose weight, they are actually referring to something else. In fact, most people want to get rid of their fat, not their weight. So what is the difference between losing weight and losing fat? Let's see it.

Weight loss is a reduction in total body weight. This includes muscle, fat, and water. Fat loss generally points to a decrease in body fat. When you lose kilos, you are reducing one of the elements of total body weight (muscle, fat or water). This translates to: losing water weight is useless and losing muscle weight is harmful. Only through the removal of fat can healthy weight loss be achieved.

BODY MASS INDEX, WHAT IS IT?

The body mass index or BMI measures the relationship between weight and height, providing a number to know if you are at a healthy weight or not. This serves for most of the population as a simple and quick way to estimate health, at least as far as weight and fat are concerned.

As published by the American Council on Exercise (ACE), the average percentage of body fat in men and women regardless of age, would be as follows:

WHY IS THE PERCENTAGE OF BODY FAT DIFFERENT IN MEN AND WOMEN?

Men are more likely to accumulate fat in the abdominal area, and women to accumulate it in the area of the hips or arms. And why is this happening? It may be because the way in which fats are absorbed in the intestine is different for men than for women, that is, the lipoproteins that are produced in the process of fat digestion are not identical for men and women.

When a food is eaten, the fats in the food are absorbed by cells in the intestine called enterocytes, and then transported into the circulation in the form of a lipoprotein called chylomicron. Chylomicrons are responsible for transporting lipids and transporting them to the liver and other body tissues. And it is here that the difference between men and women arises that, according to several studies, chylomicrons are larger and more numerous in men than in women.

Chylomicrons, being more numerous in men and larger in size, would have a greater probability of accumulating visceral fat in the abdominal area than in women.

HOW TO CALCULATE THE PERCENTAGE OF BODY FAT?

To calculate the percentage of body fat or BMI, this simple formula is usually used:

It is very common to use this Body Mass Index (BMI) formula to see if the body weight is ideal or not, but this process is insufficient, since it does not take into account the percentage of body fat. For example, a person with a weight of 95 kg and a height of 1.80 would have an overweight BMI, but could perfectly well have a healthy fat percentage. This occurs in the case of people who exercise regularly and whose muscle mass is high.

The key is to know if the percentage of body fat is ideal. There are two ways to obtain this data:

• Some scales called bioimpedance. These scales provide data beyond the total weight. Data on percentage and kg of fat, visceral fat (the one that surrounds the viscera and is the most dangerous fat for health), percentage and kg of fat-free mass, bone mass and water are obtained.
• Another way to know the fat percentage, but it requires a health specialist, is to measure the skinfolds through a tool called a skinfold caliper. It is a more reliable method if done correctly.

If thanks to our tips you already know your body fat percentage and you want to start improving your fat levels to make them healthier, in the ATAA Sports online store you have all the necessary home fitness equipment. Start your fitness training now and make the excess fat disappear!