Consider Measuring Fitness with Body Fat%

Because your body is about 50-55% water, you can temporarily stage-manage your weight with diet pills and fad diets but, you cannot manipulate your body fat percentage. Body fat percentage is a more meaningful metric for gauging physical fitness than what you can get out of height and weight tables.

Excessive body fat can connote a lack of personal discipline and can lead to low self-esteem. It detracts from appearance and suggests a poor state of health, physical fitness or stamina. That is what researchers found from measuring the responses of people to photos of different body types.

It’s fair to say that knowing your body fat percentage is a necessary first step to getting fit and trim. Because your body is about 55-60% water, you can stage-manage your weight with diet pills and fad diets but, you cannot manipulate body fat percentage.

Consider making your physical fitness goal to get your body fat percentage in line with the U.S. Army standard for the maximum allowable body fat percentage for your age and gender. Once you get there you will have accomplished something meaningful and made physical fitness a positive habit. You will be able to take your fitness ambitions anywhere you want to go.  The maximum allowable body fat percentages for everybody in the U.S. Army are shown below. Chances are you are not in the military and never intend to be but, can you suggest a more thoroughly researched or carefully crafted standard?

Maximum allowable body fat percentages for females:

Age 17 – 20:  Max Body Fat is 28%
Age 21 – 27:  Max Body Fat is 30%
Age 28 – 39:.  Max Body Fat is 32%
Age 40 and over:  Max Body Fat is 34%

Fortunately determining your body fat percentage is easy. If you cannot or do not want to get it done at a gym or anywhere else other than privately, you can get a body fat caliper at a sporting goods store or at Amazon.com. There is an under $15 model and even one with a digital readout for around $30. The instructions that come with the body fat caliper are helpful enough for you to take readings as accurate as you would get at the gym or the doctor’s office.

Body Mass Index (BMI) is a number calculated from a person’s weight and height. BMI is used for creating statistics from large groups of people and in that role is considered a reliable indicator of body fat percentage for an entire population.  You’re a population of one. Get the body fat calipers.