Key points on body fat percentage by race This article demonstrated differences in body fat percentages, in different races. Assuming a constant Body Fat percentage, different races have different Body Mass Index values to achieve the same body fat percentage. The chart shows the results: So, suppose that White race has a BMI overweight criteria […]

Key points from this article relating body mass index to body fat Here’s the most basic data from that article, which I found helpful. Gender Ethnicity Mean BMI Body Fat % Male White 25.2 19.6%   Black 26.3 22.0%   Asian 23.3 21.3%   Puerto Rican 27.4 24.8% Female White 23.3 30.8%   Black 28.5 […]

Oh No! I have a Double Chin We have all been there! You see the message on Facebook ‘you have been tagged in a photo‘ you rush to login and see yourself looking fantastic at the party … and there it is!   In full glory, for all to see … the big double chin. […]

For the time being … if you are interested in a body fat percentage calculator there are a few good ones out there on the internet:- Calculator.net This online body fat percentage calculator takes your gender, height, neck, waist and hip measurements (in all different units) and gives you your body fat measurement in percentage […]

It is quite interesting that Asian body fat percentage has lower body mass index (BMI) but higher percentage of body fat than do whities. This article has equations to predict Asian body fat percentage, based on body mass index, race and gender. When graphed, they look like this, showing little difference in women, but a […]

Body Mass Index Versus Body Fat Percentage   There has been much debate between the benefits of Body Mass Index (BMI) measurement as opposed to body-fat percentage scores. So, whilst body mass index bmi takes into account body weight and height, body fat percentage measures the body composition. That is, in other words, the fat […]

Comments and Key points The authors made an assumption that I disagree with. They set their BMI cut-off values to maximize sensitivity for obesity, by saying: "sensitivity is given more importance than specificity since a false positive is not considered as serious as a false negative." Paraphrased, this means they think it is more acceptable […]

What differences are there between race and ethnic groups regarding body fat, body mass index? This article is a tour-de-force summary of many of the reasons why different racial group/ethnicities/nationalities should have different BMI overweight criteria. Below are some excerpts that I found useful, when I searched for race-specific Body Mass Index adjustments for Black […]

Comments and deriving a body fat percentage formula This article uses the fairly standard definition of obesity, using body fat percentages of 25% for men, and 30% for women. It found the commonly seen curved relationship of body fat percentage versus Body Mass Index, as shown in the first chart below. I showed this chart […]

  Lean body mass or lean body weight:  A waste of arithmetic?   Sometimes, people ask me to explain what is lean body mass or lean body weight. However, it is not what you think. Indeed, lean body mass has nothing to do with your ideal weight or what your body should be like if you were […]

Comments about this body fat and body mass index study of Singapore For Singapore Asians, the study suggests using a BMI of 27.0 as the cutoff for Obesity ( instead of 30 ), and using a Body Mass Index of 21.0 as the cutoff for Overweight ( instead of 25 ), because these values match […]

Healthy body fat percentage ranges based on body mass index This abstract was presented at a scientific meeting, and reproduced on the Tanita Corporation website1. I also reproduce it here because the presentation contained the interesting data in the table below, showing the Body Fat Percentages that occur at a BMI of 25 kg/m2. Women […]

Years ago around year 2000, I was apparently very curious about the scientific validity of measuring body fat, by running an electric current from one foot to the other foot, via the legs, by standing on a scale. So I gathered up some research articles and posted them on my halls.md website. Years went by, […]

I wondered about the scientific basis behind those popular body fat monitor scales, such as the Tanita series. Scales like those can show your body fat percentage, along with your body weight, which is remarkable. So a little research into their accuracy yielded the following references. It’s boring to most people, but interesting to a […]

Comments about the study using a body fat monitor scale That is a rather long abstract. Here are some the useful tidbits. They used the Tanita body fat monitor scale, which uses bioelectric impedance, foot-to-foot method. That’s a scale that you can buy and use at home. I’ve seen other published research studies use it […]

A Tanita article saying their impedance weight scales for body fat, do work in children. Dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA), and Bio-electrical impedance methods, using a Tanita body fat scale, had equivalent results in children, with no significant difference. This study has a twin cousin, using the same data sample of children.   References http://www.tanita.com/professional/abstracts/abstract_main.html […]

Comments about their body fat percentage cutoff for women. They defined obesity, based on body fat percentages, 25% in men and 35% in women. The 35% number for women is a little higher than other articles, but they justify it by stating that it treats men and women equally: " 7% of the females and […]

Comments and Key points This article addresses the variability of adolescent’s body fat percentage, versus their body mass index. The charts show this variability, meaning that at a given BMI value, body fat percentage can be high or low, over a very significant range. For those who are curious, the formulas given in this article […]

Body fat percentages and Body Mass Index (BMI) values in Black and White people in New York A study comparing New York’s white and black persons.   Men Women   BMI fat % BMI fat % Black 25.8 21.7% 27.0 35.6% White 25.2 21.2% 23.3 30.3% Men had similar BMI and body fat percentage, and […]

Comments about the Chinese body mass index and percent body fat correlation, and cut offs. It’s nice to read a concise article like this, that presents its data with completeness, and makes decent interpretation and conclusions. The article says that "In Asians, the new proposed cut-offs for overweight and for obesity are >=23.0 and >=25.0 […]

Comments about body mass index elderly cutoffs This article has an impressive sample size of elderly women, age 60 to 88 years. Their data graphed looks like this, showing body fat percentage versus Body Mass Index. A couple of points about this graph. They used a linear trend line, but a curving line would have […]