Body Fat Calculator: What’s Your Percentage?

When it comes to calculating the weight you may need to lose, most people go by their body fat. Remember, someone who looks healthy may still have some body fat that needs to be burned in order to make them truly healthy. The body fat percentage that a person has is usually a great indicator if weight loss needs to happen.

Body Fat Percentage Formula

So, how do you factor your body fat percentage? There are several ways to do this, and it is going to have a different formula based on whether you are a man or woman.

For women:

Adult Body Fat % = (1.20 x BMI) + (0.23 x Age) – 10.8 x 0) – 5.4

For men:

Adult Body Fat % = (1.20 x BMI) + (0.23 x Age) – 10.8 x 1) – 5.4

You will need to calculate your BMI to get the results. You will want to take this formula to get your BMI to plug into the BFP formula above:

BMI = 703 x weight (lbs) / [height (in)]2

Once you have all this information, you will find that you can calculate your body fat percentage and go from there.

A helpful hint for those who are doing this is to take these measurements first thing in the morning. Why is that? You tend to get true results in the morning before you start your day versus taking these measurements later into the afternoon or at night.

What is a Good Body Fat Percentage?

The percentage that is good depends on several factors. However, for most people, they estimate that 16.6 – 19.4% body fat percentage is considered in the good zone. When you get a body fat percentage that is under 14% that is when you are getting into a dangerously low section that could mean that you are extremely unhealthy. Likewise, having body fat percentage that is above 25% is considered too high. Those who have a higher body fat percentage often find that they carry extra fat around certain areas of their body such as their waist line.

If you are unhappy with your good body percentage, then it may be time to start dieting and exercise to get it to where it needs to be. You will find that as you age, it gets harder to lose weight and lower body fat percentage when compared to someone that is younger.