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Body fat percentages for athletes12/1/2023 Body mass index versus body fat percentage in prospective national football league athletes: overestimation of obesity rate in athletes at the national football league scouting combine. Both can give a host of body composition stats, including body fat percentage, and are incredibly easy to use – most will even beam your numbers straight to an app to help you track changes over time.įor those who want the utmost accuracy in their measurement, there are options like hydrostatic weighing and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) to consider, but these will hit the wallet hard and for body fat measuring purposes are generally only used by professional athletes.Provencher, MT, Chahla, J, Sanchez, G, Cinque, ME, Kennedy, NI, Whalen, J, Price, MD, Moatshe, G, and LaPrade, RF. There are couple of options for those who want to get more technological: smart scales and handheld scanners. You measure the fold in a pinch of skin on at least three spots on your body, then put those numbers into an app or online calculator to estimate your body fat percentage. Consumer devices can be a little iffy in their accuracy, so the main thing to remember is that if you use the same scanner at the same approximate time each week, you should get a picture of how your body fat percentage is changing even if the numbers aren’t precisely correct.Ĭalipers are the time-honoured method of measuring body fat and they remain the cheapest way to do it yourself today. There are a few ways to do this, which vary in their ease of use and accuracy. This Renpho model is our pick of the best smart scales (Image credit: Camilla Artault / Future)īy now you should be well convinced of the merits of measuring your body fat percentage and keen to find out your vital stats. The below table of body fat percentage ranges for men and women from the American Council on Exercise is frequently quoted and a solid reference point. And to muddy the waters further there is no uniform standard: the NHS prefers to focus on BMI. Well of course it all depends, with factors like height, gender and genetics all playing a part. On the flip side, a recurring calorie deficit forces the body to use up its stored fat as energy, depleting the supply and resulting in weight loss. A frequent surplus of calories causes fat stores to accumulate, resulting in weight gain. When we eat, calories that are not used for immediate functions (such as to provide the energy for respiration and to provide the fuel to keep your heart ticking) are converted into the triglycerides that make up storage fat. The other type of fat, called storage fat, is the result of a calorie surplus. Fat is also essential for the protection of our organs as well as to the insulation that regulates our internal temperatures. Without essential fatty acids, such as omega-3 from oily fish, nuts and seeds, it would be impossible for our bodies to process nutrients like the fat-soluble vitamins A, K, and D, which assist in immune health, blood clotting, and the absorption of calcium. Just in case you’re under the impression that fat is uniformly bad for you and should be eradicated at all costs, let us introduce you to the two types of fat: essential and stored.Įssential fat, unsurprisingly, is essential to the normal and healthy functioning of the body. Put simply, fat is a collection of unused energy and body fat percentage is the ratio of fat to total bodyweight. For fans of more old-school (and cheaper) methods, calipers will also do the job. It’s now easier than ever before to monitor your body fat: you can get smart scales, fitness trackers and handheld scanners that provide the stats on your body composition.
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