Faulkner 4-Site Skinfold Calculator: Body Fat Percentage

By PounceFit Team · Updated on 2026-10-06

Technical content for health and fitness professionals. It reproduces formulas and protocols published in the scientific literature, with the sources at the end of the page. It is not a recommendation and does not replace the judgment of the professional who runs the assessment.

Free Faulkner (1968) 4-site skinfold calculator: body fat percentage from four skinfolds, with the same math as PounceFit, the body assessment app.

The Faulkner 4-site skinfold calculator estimates body fat percentage straight from the sum of four skinfolds (triceps, subscapular, suprailiac and abdominal) with a linear equation. It does not calculate body density (Faulkner, 1968). The math is the same as in PounceFit, body assessment software.

Who it is for

The equation was published in a chapter on the physiology of swimming and diving (Faulkner, 1968). It is simple and uses the same sites for everyone, so it works well for tracking the same client over time. To compare different people, choose a protocol that accounts for sex and age.

Formula

S = triceps + subscapular + suprailiac + abdominal, in mm.

• Body fat (%) = 0.153 × S + 5.783

The equation uses neither sex nor age.

Worked example

Man, 35 years old, 85 kg (187 lb). Skinfolds (mm): triceps 12, subscapular 16, suprailiac 18, abdominal 24.

1. S = 70 mm.
2. Body fat = 0.153 × 70 + 5.783 = 16.5%.
3. Fat mass = 85 × 16.493 ÷ 100 = 14.0 kg; fat-free mass = 71.0 kg.

Limitations

• With no sex or age in the equation, the same skinfold sum gives the same percentage for a 20-year-old man and a 60-year-old woman.
• The result is an estimate and depends on measurement technique (Heyward and Wagner, 2004). Use the standardized sites (ACSM, 2021).
• Do not compare Faulkner results with those of another protocol. Each equation has its own bias.