When you want to know the status of your weight, the most obvious method that many people tent to rush towards is using a weighing scale. There is nothing wrong with this. If however you want to know your body status in greater detail, then the common weighing scale simply won’t cut it.

This is because it won’t provide important factors one of them being the fat content in your body. This will be your ultimate guide to the best body fat scale 2018.

Speaking of fat

There are two types of fat in our bodies. These are essential fats which are needed for the proper running of the body systems as well as an enhanced reproductive system. There is also storage fat which is contained in the adipose tissue. One of the functions of storage fat is to keep internal organs safe.

Why you need to know your body composition

Simply put it is the beginning of maintaining a proper lifestyle and a successful diet. By knowing the ratio of your lean mass to fat composition, you are better able to take the necessary measures to reduce the level of fat in your body. Such includes doing exercises.

Too much fat after all can lead to health concerns such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases as well as other serious complications. By keeping your fat levels low, you can increase your lifespan, feel better and even gain more confidence in yourself. Let’s now take a look at different methods to measure the body fat.

Using calipers

This involves an expert pinching the shin with calipers in different areas and using the figures to calculate your total body fat through the use of a formula.

Pros

It is fairly fast
It is less strenuous and painless

Cons

It is not the most accurate method of testing body fat and different people may come up with different results.

Using your height vs. your circumference

Here, your waist is measured which is then compared to other figures such as your height or the circumference of the neck. Your age is also factored in and used to produce a figure on your overall body fat content.

Pros

It is quite convenient
Quick and easy to perform

Cons

It is not very accurate
Different individuals could produce different results.

Using infrared

This method is also known as near-infrared interactance. An infrared light is directed on the skin on your biceps. This beam of light will be absorbed by the fat under the skin to produce measurements.

Pros

It is quite accurate

Cons

It can be expensive
Not available in all facilities

Dual Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry

DXA makes use of X-rays to provide a scan of the complete body. You are able to read through bone and tissue.

Pros

You feel no pain
It fairly fast taking between 10-20 minutes
Very precise and accurate

Cons

Not available in many facilities
Quite expensive

Conclusion

There are many more ways of measuring your fat composition such as BMI or body mass index calculators and hydrostatic weighing. Some of these methods are more efficient than others.Equipped with such information you can improve your diet to constitute healthy foods as well as taking part in regular exercises.