Introduction
It was about a year ago that a friend pulled me into a 'Landmark Forum' to find the secret to living a fulfilled life. Three painful days later, I emerged as if a new man seemingly fortified with the knowledge by which one can live a happy life. And I have to admit that there was nothing much to discover as compared to the hype and fuss.
One aspect of the Landmark Forum emphasizes the extent to which people go to 'look good', meaning , put on a front.
Although, that observation was eye-opening, the fact that people will do anything to portray a sense of confidence from changing their appearance to the way they behave, reveals a degree of inauthenticity that is present in all of us. A quality that is here to stay…
A Case of Bigger ain't Better?
Yes, everyone wants to look fit… don't we? To create the right impressions… to look good… so what?
However not all reasons stem from the desire of 'looking good' but also from the direct correlation between the fat in your body and your level of physical fitness. Meaning to say, more fat means more risks of diseases and vice-versa…
Body Fat – Techniques & Formulas
Several recommendations have been made as to what the ideal body fat percentages should, and the values lie in a range anywhere between 2% to 24% for men and 10% to 31% for women. Values below and above the consecutive upper and lower limits are said to cause both physical and psychological issues in both men and women.
Yet one is for sure: you cannot determine the exact body weight of an individual, however there are techniques that are being to give us an accurate reading. And the ones we discuss here will start with the most unreliable ones to the best that is known to experts today.
1. Height-Weight Table
This method using someone's genius to tell what your ideal weight should be according to your height while also providing you with body frame sizes as well BUT it cannot tell you what your body fat percentage is. An unreliable weight to say the least!
2. Body Mass Index
This method employs both the calculation of you height and weight using the formula, BMI = Weight in kgs * Height ^ 2 (squared) in meters.
Note: You'll have to divide the weight in pounds by 2.2046 and then use the formula
The answer is then evaluated against a table that tells you whether your BMI is ideal or you face a health risk or not. Simple to use BUT it does not calculate body fat!
3. Skinfold measurements
For this method, all you need are body fat calipers, and the right locations to use these calipers on, the results of which will calculate the accurate body fat percentage. Just remember to consult an experienced examiner while also choosing the right equation to calculate the body fat percentage!
4. Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis
This method uses body fat scales that can measure the body fat percentage accurately (better than the aforementioned calipers) not unless the equation used to program the scale is not right for you.
5. Hydrostatic weighing
Finally, the best of them all. Underwater weighing. Yes, based on the chap who ran naked and shouted 'Eureka' in understanding buoyancy, Archimedes himself! How it works is that the examiner measures your body density, by checking how much water you displace from the tank filled with water. After which, an equation is used to calculate body fat from the bone density value that has been found. However, it is not common to find such a unit anywhere and if that's not enough, is expensive too! But this is the best way to measure body fat…
In Closing
Perhaps just as Archimedes learned that the human body is buoyant, perhaps it isn't wrong to say that perhaps in life one must be able to both take the troughs and crests, rather buoyantly too! And as for Landmark… no Eurekas there!
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