Skinfold Body Fat Calculator (Jackson-Pollock)
Enter gender, age and three skinfold thicknesses in mm (chest/abdomen/thigh for men, triceps/suprailiac/thigh for women) to estimate body density and body-fat percentage with the Jackson-Pollock 3-site formula — reference ranges and measurement tips are included.
For self-reference only. This is not a medical diagnosis — body-fat estimates from skinfolds have a typical error of about ±3–4%.
Your body density and body-fat percentage will appear here.
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What is it
Skinfold calipers measure the thickness of subcutaneous fat at standard sites; the Jackson-Pollock equations convert the sum of three folds into body density, which the Siri equation then turns into body-fat percentage. It is a portable, low-cost field estimate rather than a lab-grade measure like DEXA.
Notes & fun facts
A weekly skinfold check at the same three sites shows whether training and diet are actually changing body composition, long before the scale moves — athletes use it to track fat loss without expensive scans.
Origin & history
The skinfold method grew out of anthropometry and nutrition assessment: in the first half of the 20th century, researchers found that subcutaneous fat thickness at sites such as the triceps correlates with body fatness. In the 1970s, Jackson and Pollock published multi-site regression equations, which, combined with the Siri body-density conversion, became a classic low-cost field method for estimating body fat.
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