Every time a person eats a cupcake or gulps down a cool chocolate milkshake, the amount of fat entering the body is likely to cross one’s mind.

There are, in fact, many ways to find out just how much body fat you have, said Becky Lewis, fitness coordinator at the Office of Campus Recreation.

The procedure offered at the Campus Recreation Center is the skin-fold test. It costs $10 and comes with a nutrition assessment brochure.

“The process is to take a pair of calipers and pinch a portion of the skin, in the arms or in the legs,” Lewis said. “Then a math formula is used to find out the percent of body fat.”

However, there is a 3 to 5 percent error, usually based on the experience of the person giving the test.

Another procedure is hydrostatic weighing, known as “gold standard testing” because of its accuracy, Lewis said. According to the Health Fitness Instructor’s Handbook, because an object’s loss of weight in water is equal to the weight of the water it displaces, body volume can be calculated as the difference between body weight in air and body weight underwater.

Bio-electrical impedance is another procedure used to measure fat. That is when a small instrument and four electrodes are placed on the skin and a weak electrical current is sent through the body. But the procedure is not accurate, said assistant athletic trainer Greg Ehlers.

“Everyone needs a percentage of fat,” Lewis stressed. “Your body cannot function without it.”

The minimum amount of fat for men should be 3 to 5 percent, and for women, 12 to 14 percent.

But most concerns aren’t about having too little body fat. Having too much also can be considered a health risk, leading to cardiovascular diseases such as coronary heart disease, hypertension and diabetes, according to the “Managing Your Body Composition” brochure.

Two important factors must be considered when determining whether your body fat is right, Ehlers said.

“First, you have to look at the studies that have been done and see if it’s scientifically OK,” he said. “Then you have to look at how a person feels about their body image. If they feel good about it, then it’s OK.”

To maintain body composition, Ehlers recommends exercising regularly and eating the right foods in the right quantities.

“The amount of exercise a person should do is pretty individual,” he said. “Usually it’s three to five days per week with 20 to 30 minutes cardiovascular and some strength training.”

It’s important to remember that a person’s body fat cannot change overnight, Lewis said.

“If a person does a test at the beginning of the semester and then again at the end of the semester, they might be able to see a difference,” she said.

During Body Image Awareness Week, held Feb. 19 to 23, NIU has a calendar of events, including a “body fair” from noon to 7 p.m. Feb. 20 at the Neptune Fireside Lounge.

“It’s like a wellness fair, with body-related booths, and it’ll be interactive,” Lewis said.

But people shouldn’t get caught up in body image, she added.

“It’s important to be concerned, not obsessed,” she said.