How to Calculate a Person's Measurements

For health and fitness, key body measurements help you gauge aspects of your body's condition. By tracking the changes in these measurements, you see the progress toward fitness or weight loss goals through better dietary choices and a good workout routine. The two most important measures are your body mass index and percentage body fat.

Things You'll Need

  • Skinfold calipers
  • Body fat chart
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Instructions

  1. Calculate Body Mass Index (BMI)

    • 1

      Enlist a friend to help you measure your height in inches. Stand against a wall with your feet flat on the floor and your chin parallel to the floor. Have your friend lay a pencil flat on the highest part of your head and make a mark on the wall even with the top of your head. Then, use a tape measure to find your height in inches.

    • 2

      Use a scale to determine your weight in pounds.

    • 3

      Divide your weight by your height. Multiply the answer by itself, and then multiply that result by 703. The resulting number is your body mass index. A BMI between 18.5 and 24.9 is considered normal. A BMI over 30 is considered obese. The range between normal and obese is considered overweight.

    Calculate Your Percentage Body Fat

    • 4

      Take skin fold measurements with a pair of body-fat calipers on the back of your arm in the middle of your triceps, on the font of your arm at the bicep, at the base of your shoulder blade and at your waist even with your belly button and above the hip bone prominence.

    • 5

      Note the results of each measurement and add them together.

    • 6

      Compare the sum total of the measurements to a skin fold measurement/percent body fat chart. Make sure the chart is designed for these four measurements or that you adjust where you take your measurements and how many you take to the standards of the chart. Use your total skin fold measurements, your sex and your age to find your percentage body fat on the chart.