Calculators for Body Fat and Weight Management
The main theme of this app is body fat, an excess of which could lead to diabetes, hypertension and coronary artery disease. Use the online calculators in this app to make a personal assessment of your health risk status and manage your weight. Click on any of the cards below to open a calculator for the type of calculation you wish to perform.










When you want to lose weight, what is the weight you want to lose made of? The obvious answer is 'fat'. Fat can refer to either the biochemical substance that we call fat or to the tissues that stores this substance. The storage tissue is called 'adipose tissue'.
Adipose tissue consists of specialised cells called adipocytes that contain a large globule of the biochemical substance. Biologists refer to the globule as the 'lipid droplet' made of triglyceride. Triglyceride is the substance you are actually talking about when you say you want to lose some weight.
Losing fat depends on the total balance between the amount of fat you burn and what you store over time. Storing fat is something your body does all the time; even while you're in an energy deficit, your body will switch between storing and burning fat. So to lose fat, you have to keep fat oxidation or fat burning at a higher rate than fat storage.
Common Misconceptions About Fat Loss
One common myth is that fat can be converted into muscle. Fat and muscle are two distinct tissue types; one cannot be directly converted into the other. However, losing fat and building muscle simultaneously can give the appearance of a more toned and defined physique.
Another misconception is that you can spot-reduce fat from specific body areas. Unfortunately, targeted fat loss is not possible. When you lose weight, your body decides where to burn fat based on genetic and hormonal factors. Exercising targeting specific areas may help tone and strengthen the underlying muscles, but it won't specifically burn fat from those areas.
And, crash diets and extreme calorie restriction are often seen as quick solutions for fat loss. While they may result in rapid weight loss initially, they are not sustainable or healthy in the long term. These approaches can lead to muscle loss, nutrient deficiencies, and a slowed metabolism which makes it harder to maintain weight loss.