A healthy attitude about your body is just as important as physical fitness. The following are simply quick ways to check in on your health and body in terms of weight. They are tools, and are not meant to cause any unhealthy anxiety about having the ‘perfect body’.

*BMI is a simple measure of body fat based on height and weight. It can be calculated using online ‘fit’ calculators or by multiplying your weight in pounds by 703, dividing that answer by your height (in), then dividing that answer by your height (in) again. A healthy BMI between 18.5 and 24.9. There are limitations to this index, as it may overestimate body fat in those with a muscular build– muscle weighs more than fat– or do the opposite: underestimate body fat in persons with less muscle mass. Because of these limitations, body fat percentage is a much more accurate measurement in determining if you are healthy.

Body fat percentage: weight of person’s fat divided by weight of person.

What’s healthy: 21-24% for fit women, 14-20% for female athletes

Ways to calculate it:

– By gently pinching skin folds with calipers (a device used to measure the distance between two opposite sides of an object)

– High-tech scales that measure body fat

– Underwater weighing

http://www.fitsugar.com/Measure-Up-BMI-vs-Body-Fat-Percentage-3644256