When Calculating BF%...

[Goldprospector]

why does "age" figure in to the equations?
I have ran across 3 different formulas and have did the calculations with them all and they come up to a close tolerance...but the age thing puts me at up to 4% higher than a 21 year old person...I am 38. WHy is is different, I don's see very many 21 year olds with the muscle mass that I carry around.

Is there a formula that does not use age in the calculations?

 

[Stryc-9]

I would say the adjustment reflects the assumption that one's metabolism naturally slows down with age.

Unless you're going with figures more accurate than those obtained from simple calculations (i.e., you've gone for hydrostatic measurement, etc.,) I would take the results with a grain of salt.

 

[sublime35]

They are trying to say because your OLD that your gunna be fatter. LOL jk man but yeah it is def. along the lines of assuming that with a higher age naturally there will be a higher bf% from slower metabolism and less activity...most likely.