by Pam Brink

Created on: June 12, 2010   Last Updated: May 01, 2012

Calculating your body fat percentage is remarkably easy if you have a home tape measure that has both centimeters and inches. Just a few simple measurements, using the centimeter side of the tape measure (centimeters gives greater precision to the measurement), entering those numbers into an on-line body fat calculator, and you are done.  The standard measure used by most people is called the “U.S. Navy Circumference Method” which can be found at  

http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/library/blbodyfatcalcu lator.htm.

A note of caution when doing your measurements:  do each measurement three times and average out the scores.  You will get more accurate numbers and therefore more accurate results.

The first measurement is to determine how tall you are without shoes.  You can measure yourself at home by standing straight, with your back against a wall, and having someone place a book flat on your head.  Mark that spot on the wall.  Use your tape measure to determine your height.  Or just use the number you were given from the last time your height was measured. (We tend to shrink as we age.)

Second, measure your neck just below the voice box (larynx).  It’s best to have a slight downward slant from the back of the neck to just under your voice box.

Third, measure yourself at the waist.  Men should measure themselves at the navel (or belly button) and women should measure themselves at the smallest part of the waistline.

Last, women should measure themselves at the largest part of their hips.  (This measurement is not necessary for men.)  Enter all these numbers into the appropriate boxes, click the “calculate” button and your body fat percentage will appear.

If you want to have a body fat calculator available on your home computer, you can purchase a program from Diet Power called “Body Tracker.”  In this program you have several ways to calculate your body fat percentage.  The first is a general set of measurements which includes: hip, waist, bicep, thigh, calf, neck and chest, in inches.  A second page provides you with five sets of calculations using millimeters and one calculation using inches. First is the Jackson/Pollock 7-site measurement including:  chest, abdominal, thigh, tricep, subscapular, Suprailiac, and midaxillary.  The second is also a Jackson/Pollock calculation using only 4 sites: abdominal, thigh, tricep, and Suprailiac. 

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