How to Use a Body Fat Tester to Tell If You Have Too Much Body Fat

Some people may think that they are healthy and they may even fall into a healthy weight range, but they could have way too much body fat and not even know it. This is why it is important to use a body fat tester to see exactly how much body fat you have.

Excess fat is associated with several medical complications and diseases such as high blood pressure, heart disease, heart attack, stroke, diabetes, some cancers, and high cholesterol. Simply using a body fat tester to monitor your percentages of fat can greatly increase the chances that you will not have to worry about those medical complications.

There are a couple of different kinds of body fat testers that are available. There are ones that are sold for at home or personal use and then there are professional ones that personal trainers and doctors have. You don't have to go to a doctor or personal trainer to get a pretty accurate body fat percentage. Most personal testers can provide you with an accurate number.

Most of the at home fat testers use skin folds to determine the fat percentage. This is done by taking a pinch of skin from different areas of the body such as the stomach and the upper arms and measuring it with calipers. These measurements are then used in an equation that is supplied with the tester to determine the person's fat percentage. The accuracy of these results can be swayed by the actual person using the tester, but if done properly, the results can be quite accurate.

So, once you have measured your body fat and you have your percentage, what does it all mean? Well, the American Council on Exercise has released a chart stating what percentages for fat are acceptable and desired. The chart separates women from men as women are always going to have a higher percentage because of their hormonal make up. Women are made to carry more fat on their bodies since they are the ones that carry and give birth to children.

For women, the acceptable percentage of fat would be 25-31%. Anything lower than that is considered to be great. The exception comes when your body fat percentage is too low. This may be the case for people with eating disorders or medical conditions. For women, they should not have a number under 10%.

For men, though, they can have a percentage of 2-3% and still be considered healthy. Men tend to be leaner and carry less fat on their bodies. The acceptable percentage for men is 18-25%, with the ideal being 6-13%.

Body fat testers can come in handy when you are trying to lose weight and want to monitor and track your progress. They can motivate you to get to a healthy range and stay there for life.

Tiffany Brunskole is a writer for Surfer Body Fitness, an Online retailer who specializes in workout products and supplies from Beachbody such as a body fat tester. Body fat testers can help you determine how much weight you need to lose or how healthy you really are.