How body fat is measured?
Until fairly recently, measuring body fat percentage required the help of professionals. They may have used a skinfold caliper which literally measures a pinch of skin when pulled away from the muscles and bones, or even suggested you be weighed while submerged under water in order to establish your underwater weight. However, there are now a number of body fat monitors that can be used in the home. These send a very low level electrical signal through the body – normally by standing on sensors on a body fat monitor. The signal travels quickly through lean tissue, which has a high percentage of water and is therefore a good conductor of electricity, and more slowly through fat, as fat has a lower percentage of water and is therefore a poor conductor of electricity. Known as ‘bioelectrical impedance devices’ they then use the information from this signal to work out body fat percentage.
