Your body fat, with a tape measure
The US Navy method, a second opinion from BMI, and the healthy ranges for your age.
Your body fat
18.7%
- For your age
- Healthy
- Fat mass
- 33 lb
- Lean mass
- 143.4 lb
- From BMI (Deurenberg)
- 22.1 %
US Navy method: within 3 to 4 points. The Deurenberg formula, which only looks at BMI, gives a second opinion — the gap between the two is information.
Healthy ranges by age
Gallagher et al. (2000), for men.
| Age | Low | Healthy | High | Obese |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 to 39 | < 8 % | 8 % – 20 % | 20 % – 25 % | ≥ 25 % |
| 40 to 59 | < 11 % | 11 % – 22 % | 22 % – 28 % | ≥ 28 % |
| 60 to 79 | < 13 % | 13 % – 25 % | 25 % – 30 % | ≥ 30 % |
And your muscle mass?
FFMI tells you how much muscle you carry for your height.
- The US Navy method (Hodgdon and Beckett, 1984): your neck, waist and hip measurements and your height, within 3 to 4 points.
- The Deurenberg formula (1991) gives a second opinion from BMI, age and sex.
- Healthy ranges by age and sex come from Gallagher et al. (2000).
Sources
- Hodgdon & Beckett (1984) — Prediction of percent body fat for U.S. Navy men (NHRC 84-11)
- Hodgdon & Beckett (1984) — Prediction of percent body fat for U.S. Navy women (NHRC 84-29)
- Deurenberg et al. (1991) — Body mass index as a measure of body fatness
- Gallagher et al. (2000) — Healthy percentage body fat ranges
Frequently asked questions
In the morning, before eating, with a soft tape lying flat, not tight. Measure twice and keep the average.
They vary a lot with hydration. To track change, keep the same method at the same time of day.
The healthy range depends on age and sex: the table below gives it. Lower is not always better.
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