The primary purpose of body fat is the storage of energy to be used by muscles. Subcutaneous fat (under-the-skin) also helps provide warmth and protection for our bodies. Internal fat helps support and provide protection for the spinal cord, hear and vital organs. Body fat is also crucial in the utilization of vitamins A, D, E, and K by the body (these vitamins are fat soluble). In short, you wouldn't be able to survive without some body fat. The real problem isn't body fat, it's excess body fat.
Excess body fat is associated with increased risks for heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, stroke, and some certain cancers. Emotional health and well being are also unfortunately often at risk due to societal pressures on being thin.
Isn't the Body Mass Index a better measurement indicator for body fat?
Body Mass Index, or BMI, is simply a correlation between a person's height and weight. BMI does not measure body fat. Just like any bathroom scale, BMI cannot distinguish between people who are heavy with fat and those who have a large amount of muscle. Since muscle weighs more than fat, BMI could give you a wrong result.
There are several popular methods for measure your body fat. Following are three of the most popular:
1) Hydrostatic weighting, in which a person's mass is measured both in and out of a tank of water,a gold standard for estimate your body fat. This test is based on the assumption that lean tissue is denser than fat--that is, lean tissue will sink and fat tissue'll float.However, hydrostatic testing is simply not practical for personal use on a regular basis. Who wants to go to an exercise physiology lab and get dunked underwater every weeks?
2) Skin fold measurement with a caliper involves measuring subcutaneous (under-the-skin) fat with a caliper at certain point on your body. Skinfold testing is based on the premise that the majority of your body fat is subcutaneous- right below your skin where you can see and grab it by "pinching". For years, a skinfold test could only be performed by somebody else. A second person was required to "pinch your fat" at several locations, including spots you can't reach, such as your upper back.
But I know how to measure your own body fat at home with the one suprailiac site skinfold test--By using Accu-Measure.
The Accu-Measure is a registered medical device approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The United States Patent and Trademark office awarded the patent to Accu-Measure in 1992 for a skinfold caliper for an individual to accurately and inexpensively measure one's own body fat.
According to a clinical study from the December 1998 issue of the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, "Validity of Self-Assessment Techniques for Estimating Percent Fat in Men and Women." The Accu-Measure was recommended over another self-assessment device,even the Futrex 1000, a near infrared device, which significantly overestimated % body fat.
3) Anthropometric measurement is an another test you can do at home. This test is based on assumption that fat is distributed at certain site on the body such as neck,wrist, and waist line. Muscle tissue is usually found at sites such as the biceps, forearm, and calf.
The following two anthropometric tests-one for males and one for females- will help you estimate your percentage of body fat. These formulas are from Philip L. Goglia's book, Turn Up the Heat: Unlock the fat Burning Power of Your Metabolism, and have a plus or minus error rate of 5 percent. All you nee is a cloth tape and a calculator
AT Home Body Fat Test
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Step 1.) Taking Measurements
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1.1 Height in inches------------------(A)
1.2 Hips in inches--------------------(B)
1.3 Waist in inches-------------------(C)
1.4 Weight in pounds------------------(D)
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Step 2.) Determining Your Percentage of Body Fat
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For Males :
Your Approximate Body Fat Percentage is = {[(Hips x 1.4)-2]+[(Waist x 0.72)-4]}-(Height x 0.61)-10
For Females:
Your Approximate Body Fat Percentage is = {[(Hips x 1.4)-1]+[(Waist x 0.72)-2]}-(Height x 0.61)-10
You don't necessarily have to get your body fat tested to know that you're losing your fat. If you have been exerciseing and eating properly and your clothes begin to feel looser, if you find yourself taking in your belt a notch or two. You'll know that you are losing your fat and gaining lean muscle.
Calculate Pounds of Body Fat and Lean Muscle
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The final Step is to take your total weight and calculate how many pounds of fat you carry and how many pounds of lean muscle. Use the following two formulas
Total weight(lb.)x percent body fat = total pounds of fat
Total Weight(lb.)-total pounds of fat= total pounds of lean muscle
However, Body composition isn't the only important indicator of your health status. Just because your body fat is in the healthy range, it doesn't mean that your heart and lungs are fit. For anyone trying to slim down, a body-fat test is a better way to monitor progress than the scale is.
Reference to the source how to loose weight
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