MHMW

Body fat percentage

Body fat percentage is fat mass as a share of total body weight. Every field method estimates it indirectly, and the error bars are wide enough that small changes between measurements are usually not real changes.

Example

The Deurenberg equation from BMI has a reported standard error of estimate around 4 percentage points, which means a reading of 22% is genuinely compatible with anything from roughly 18% to 26%.

Try it yourself

Related terms