Aesthetics are becoming more and more important in today’s world and more and more people want a durable, youthful appearance. Skin wrinkles are seen as increasingly disturbing and unattractive, although they are basically perfectly normal signs of aging. Approximately in the course of the 25th year of life there are increasingly intensive changes in the metabolic and cell renewal performance of the human organism.
These changes ensure that the aging process begins and the skin also reacts by forming skin wrinkles. Wrinkles are caused by a loss of the skin’s own elasticity and resilience and the subcutaneous tissue underneath. For this reason, the age of 25 is considered the beginning of skin aging in many cultures. However, the speed at which the aging process progresses does not follow a fixed pattern. Rather, special habits and living conditions play a decisive role in the development of skin wrinkles.
Skin fold measurement
Skinfold measurement is a simple and inexpensive method of calculating body fat content. The mechanical method of skin fold measurement is called calipometry and requires only a so-called caliper, which acts as a caliper gauge. The thickness of the subcutaneous fat tissue is determined by measuring the thickness of various skin folds.
Depending on the method, three, four, seven or nine wrinkles are measured. It is important that exactly the same points are chosen for each measurement. With thumb and forefinger you grasp an approximately five to seven centimeter large body fold, which is then measured with the caliper.
As soon as the pressure measuring aid is engaged, the measured value is read off. To improve accuracy, it is recommended to measure three times and to calculate the average value from the three measured values. With the three-fold measurement, one fold each is measured on the triceps, abdomen and hips for women, and on the chest, abdomen and thighs for men.
The seven-wrinkle method, which is also very common, measures the chest, shoulder blade, armpit, triceps, stomach, hips and thighs. The noted values are inserted into a formula and thus the fat content is determined. In addition to the measured thickness of the skin wrinkles, various other variables are included in this formula, such as age in years or body weight in kilograms.
There are also various software and applications available on the Internet which, after the input of the determined values, independently calculate the body fat percentage. With women the standard values are somewhat higher than with men, since pregnancy and quiet time make large energy reserves necessary for the child. Furthermore it is normal that the body fat portion rises with increasing age.
For example, the normal range for a young woman is between 21% and 33%, for a young man between 8% and 20%, and for older women and men between 24-36% and 25-30%. The obvious advantage of this method of fat content determination is the low cost; such a caliper gauge can be purchased for just a few euros on the Internet or in specialist shops. The method also convinces by its simplicity, which does not require complicated technology and invasive procedures.
For the determination of pure subcutaneous fat, the method is relatively precise and reliable and is thus well suited for assessing a trend, for example as part of a diet or sports program. However, with this method it is not possible to determine the organ fat, and so strictly speaking the total body fat percentage. Especially an increased occurrence of the so-called depot fat, which is not located directly under the skin, represents a considerable risk factor for cardiovascular diseases.
