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Body fat and lean mass

A tape measure and two equations. It is three or four points out on an individual, so it is worth having for the trend rather than for the number.

Tape measure estimate

Example

16.4%

12.3 kg of fat, and 62.7 kg of lean mass.

Lean mass

62.7 kg

If this falls while you are dieting, you are losing the wrong thing.

Fat mass

12.3 kg

Everything the estimate attributes to fat.

waist − neck = 47 cm
495 ÷ (1.0324 − 0.19077 × log10(47) + 0.15456 × log10(178)) − 450 = 16.4%

Three to four percentage points out against a DEXA scan is normal. Use it for the trend, measured the same way on the same tape, and not as a figure to compare with anybody else’s.

cm
At the navel.
cm

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