What is Body Fat Percentage (BFP)?

In the simplest of terms, BFP is the amount of body fat, expressed as a percentage, in terms of your overall body weight. If it is your goal to have a 'six-pack' then you are going to have to reduce your BFP, through good nutrition and exercise, to around 12% for your abdominal muscles to show through. The lower your BFP is, the more defined your muscles will be.

How is your BFP (Body Fat Percentage) calculated?

• Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA)
  A very low level electrical signal is sent through the body - normally by standing on sensors on a body fat monitor. The signal travels quickly through lean tissue, which has a high percentage of water and is therefore a good conductor of electricity, and more slowly through fat, as fat has a lower percentage of water and is therefore a poor conductor of electricity. Bioelectrical Impedance devices use the information from this signal to work out body fat percentage.
  
  
• Skinfold Measurements
  This method involves a skinfold callipers to pinch predetermined sites on the body. The tongs pinch the skin, pulling the fat away from the muscles and bones. A gauge on the callipers measures the thickness of that pinch.
  
  It is recommended that this test is carried out by a professional and should be repeated to verify measurements. To make the test reliable you should not exercise beforehand. Exercise makes your blood travel to your skin to help you cool down and this causes the skin to swell, making your test inaccurate.
  
  
• Hydrostatic Weighing Tanks
  This method is the most accurate but also the most uncomfortable. You sit on a scale in a large tank of water and exhale all the air out of your lungs, then submerge yourself in the water completely. You stay underwater for 5 seconds, while your underwater weight is recorded. You have to make sure no air is trapped in your lungs, otherwise the test will be inaccurate and your results will produce a higher BFP.
  
  
• Infrared Interactance
  This technique involves a different coloured light, which is shone onto the skin surface at selected areas. The spectrum of the wavelengths reflected is analysed by a computer. The lean muscle to fat ratio at the test areas can be calculated as fat and lean tissue have different interactive spectra. This method, though, is not very reliable.

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Is BFP the same as BMI (Body Mass Index)?

No. Your Body Mass Index is a measure of your weight in relation to your height to determine if you are underweight, normal, or overweight. It is possible for someone like an athlete to be classed as being overweight as a result of their BMI being high so this is not always a good indicator of a healthy lifestyle. To determine your BMI, please refer to the following calculator and see how you do:

• If your BMI is below 20:
  This indicates a lean BMI, which means you have a low amount of body fat. If you are an athlete, this can be desirable. If you are not an athlete, a lean BMI can indicate that your weight may be too low which may lower your immunity. If your BMI and body weight are low, you should consider gaining weight through good diet and exercise habits, to increase your muscle mass.
• If your BMI is between 20 and 22:
  This indicates the ideal, healthy amount of body fat, which is associated with living longest, and the lowest incidence of serious illness. Coincidentally, it seems this ratio is what many individuals perceive to be the most aesthetically attractive.
• If your BMI is between 22 and 25:
  This is still considered an acceptable range, and is associated with good health.
• If your BMI is between 25 and 30:
  You are considered “Hefty” and should finds ways to lower your weight, through diet and exercise. You are at increased risk for a variety of illnesses at your present weight. You should lose weight by changing your diet and exercising more.
• If your BMI is over 30:
  This indicates an unhealthy condition. Your excess weight is putting you at risk for heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, gall bladder disease and some cancers. You should lose weight by changing your diet and exercising more.

What is my ideal weight?

There is no 'ideal' weight but there is a healthy weight. The following table will give you a good idea of where your weight range should be for your height. Remember that if you are athletic, it is possible that your weight range falls outside of the figures stated for your height and yet you would be regarded as being perfectly healthy.

Ideal Measurements for a Male Bodybuilder's Physique: