You might have heard about lean muscle mass. Since muscle is denser than fat. A person with a large percentage of their weight in muscle would look trim compared to a person of the same weight whose weight is mostly in fat. So how do you measure your body fat?
Most common ways of measuring body fat.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) - An x-ray “excites” water and fat molecules in the body, via a magnetic field. A computer scans a person's body, while he or she lies within within the magnetic field. It produces high quality images showing how much fat there is and its location. The procedure takes approximately 30 minutes and is considered safe because it does not use ionizing radiation.
Pros: Safe and relatively accurate.
Cons: The equipment , as well as the analysis of the results is expensive.
Hydrostatic Weighing - This is the one that I've heard about as being the most accurate. First of all, you get weighed in the normal. Then you are immersed totally in a tank of water and weighed again.
Because bone and muscle densities of bones and muscles are higher than water and fat is less dense than water, the person with more bone and muscle will weight more in water than the person with more fat.
The technician can then determine the volume and density of the person's body, and thus, the percentage of body fat.
This is one I've always want to try, but haven't taken the time to track down where I can find such a tank.
Pros: It gives pretty accurate results
Cons: Chances are you don't have a tank in your house and might not want to get one.
Bioelectrical Impedance Scale – While commonly used, this is not the most consistent. A special scale applies weak electrical current throughout your body. Since fat and muscles exhibit a different resistance to the current, the scale shows how many pounds of body fast you have compared to muscle. Fat and muscle resist the current at different rates
Pros: You can get one of these for home use from Amazon and other online market places for about $40.00
Cons: But a professional scale works best and starts around $1500
Body Fat Caliper - This is the one I use, but I never feel secure that I am using it correctly even though I follow the directions, You're told to pinch the skin away from the muscle about one inch above your hip bone, Then you use the calipers to measure the fold, then consult a chart which lists weight according to age, to determine your body fat.
Although it is easy to use, I'm never quite sure I'm pinching only the fat. i understand also, that highly overweight people have a harder time of it.
Pros of this technique are portability and low cost.
The cons are, as I listed above, skill of the practitioner.
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