Body Fat Calculator

This online body fat calculator uses the YMCA formula and only uses gender, weight, hip and neck measurements to calculate the body fat percent.

These results will be a close approximation of your actual body fat. To be more accurate other methods, such as skin fold tests, can be used.

However, if you are just looking for something quick and easy, and close enough, then this online calcultor will tell you what you want to know.

Be sure to scroll down further on this page to see what the results mean.

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Body Fat Results

So you have your results but what does it all mean? Based on the results in the above calculator, you will fall into one of 5 classifications. See table below;

Classification	Women	Men
Essential Fat	10 - 12%	2 - 4 %
Athletic	14 - 20%	6 - 13%
Fit	21 - 24%	14 - 17%
Acceptable	25 - 31%	18 - 25%
Excess Body Fat (Obese)	32%+	26%+

Why Use a Body Fat Calculator

There are various different calculators and methods of measuring body fat. Your body fat in pounds is determined by your total weight times the body fat percent. So if you weight 160 pounds with 15 percent body fat you would have 24 pounds of fat and 136 pounds of lean body mass.

Your lean body mass is made up of muscles, organs, bones, tissue, blood and all other non fat body parts. There is a certain amount of fat that is essential. This essential body fat helps keep the body warm, protects organs and tissues and is the main form of energy stored by the body.

Using an online body fat calculator is a quick way to estimate your body fat. Although this method is not as exact as the skin fold method of measuring body fat, it will give you a close approximation.

Skin Fold Tests for Measuring Body Fat

When using skin fold for measuring fat, there are also different methods and formulas. However, typically you will measure several areas of the body by pinching the skin, hence skin fold, and jotting down each measurement.

The areas of the body that can be measured can include the chest, biceps, abdominals, thighs, calves, triceps and lower back. Some skin fold measurements will require even more areas of the body.

Once each measurement is recorded you would use this information to calculate your body fat percent.

One way to measure body fat that is considered pretty reliable is the hip to waist ratio. Read this article from a site dedicated to wellness coaching on waist hip ratio for more details.

In addition to this body fat calculator, you may want to use this free interactive BMI calculator if you are potentially at risk for excess body fat.