Patent ID: 8103336

Claim:
An apparatus for measuring body fat, comprising: a current generating unit configured to generate a plurality of current signals having different frequencies among a plurality of frequencies varying within a predetermined range, and to apply the generated current signals to a measurement area, the measurement area being a desired area on a body; a detecting unit comprising a voltage detector configured to detect voltage generated in the measurement area in response to the current signals applied to the measurement area by the current generating unit; a signal detector configured to detect amplitudes and phases of the detected voltage; and a frequency detector configured to calculate susceptance and conductance of the measurement area based on the detected amplitudes and phases, and to detect an impedance-altering frequency based on a variation of the susceptance and conductance, wherein the impedance-altering frequency is a frequency of the applied current at which impedance is changed and the variation depends on the different frequencies of the current signals corresponding to the detected voltage; and a body fat calculating unit configured to calculate a body fat thickness based on the detected impedance-altering frequency.