
YCO-1093-02-02
Body Fat Estimation
What is Body Fat?
Body fat, like protein, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals, is an important nutrient. It stores energy
for the body’s use, helps maintain body temperature and helps cushion and protect the internal
organs. However, too much body fat can result in life-style related diseases.
How Can You Detect Body Fat?
People with a muscular build, such as athletes, can have a relatively high weight with little body fat.
Those with a less muscular build may weigh less, appear slim and still have a significant amount of
fat. Indeed, people of an average build and weight may have a percentage of body fat high enough
to be considered obese. The amount of body fat cannot necessarily be determined by weight and
build.
Body fat can be measured accurately, for example, by calculating the specific gravity of a person
from their weight in water, or by using an ultrasound measuring device. These methods, however,
require special equipment and are relatively expensive.
The BIA Method of Estimating Body Fat
Yamato’s Body Fat Monitors use bioelectric impedance analysis (BIA) to estimate the percentage
of body fat. This popular method utilizes a small, imperceptible ~50 kHz, 500uA current through the
body to measure its resistivity. The higher the percentage of body fat, the higher the resistivity. This
value is then used in combination with weight, height, age and gender to estimate the percentage of
body fat.
Body Fat Percentage
Body fat percentage is the ratio of body fat weight to total body weight multiplied by 100. In general,
body fat percent of 20% or more for men and 30% or more for women is considered overweight.
Body fat percentage (%) = [Body fat weight (kg / lb)] / [Total body weight (kg / lb)] * 100
Body Mass Index (DF311)
The body mass index (BMI) is also frequently used to evaluate obesity. While more accurate than
weight tables, a person with a very muscular build and low body fat can have the same BMI as an
obese person. However, the ClockNAVI (DF311) calculates your BMI for your convenience. BMI is
the ratio of a person’s weight to the square of their height.
BMI = [Weight (kg)] / [Height2(m)]
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