Body fat percentage - calipers

bubaluboo
bubaluboo Posts: 2,098 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I decided to have a go at calculating my body fat percentage using calipers and the calculators on this website...

http://www.linear-software.com/online.html

There are instructional videos and all went well until I looked at the results of 6 different methods (rounded up to whole number)...
1. Jackson Pollock#7: 20
2. Jackson Pollock#3: 20
3. Jackson Pollock#4: 25
4. Parillo: 30 :'(
5. Durnin Womersley: 26
6. Navy tape: 10 ha ha! Not built for pear shapes!

So, I'm somewhere between 20-30% - I guess I knew that already with a BMI of 20! Is there any one of these methods that is more reliable than the others?

Replies

  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,751 Member
    We take bf measurements with calipers - i dont really care about the number at the end, as it's not that accurate imo. What I do use the numbers for is to see that I'm going in the right direction... A loss of mm's is a loss regardless of calculated bf%.
  • Leslierussell4134
    Leslierussell4134 Posts: 376 Member
    edited June 2015
    bubaluboo wrote: »
    I decided to have a go at calculating my body fat percentage using calipers and the calculators on this website...

    http://www.linear-software.com/online.html

    There are instructional videos and all went well until I looked at the results of 6 different methods (rounded up to whole number)...
    1. Jackson Pollock#7: 20
    2. Jackson Pollock#3: 20
    3. Jackson Pollock#4: 25
    4. Parillo: 30 :'(
    5. Durnin Womersley: 26
    6. Navy tape: 10 ha ha! Not built for pear shapes!

    So, I'm somewhere between 20-30% - I guess I knew that already with a BMI of 20! Is there any one of these methods that is more reliable than the others?

    The gold standard for determining body fat is called hydrostatic body fat composition testing.
    Fancy talk for submerge you in water with a light weight over your body so you don't float up to surface. They instruct you to exhale all the air in your lungs and hold you breath for a few seconds while a underwater scale weighs you determining your composting of fat, and lean mass etc. It's pretty cool, costs about $45 when you sign up at local health clubs who provide the service periodically. I've done it a few times and entered challenges of who can lose the greatest weight without losing muscle. Very cool and healthy to know your % of body fat.
  • bubaluboo
    bubaluboo Posts: 2,098 Member
    @livingleanlivingclean I guess that will have to suffice. It would be nice to know though. There's such a huge difference between them that it could be possible to get to an unhealthy level and think you're OK...not that there's seriously any concern that I'd get that low ha ha.

    @Leslierussell4134 I looked into this a while back and can't find anywhere nearby that offers this service (York, UK). I'd definitely do it for $45!
  • Leslierussell4134
    Leslierussell4134 Posts: 376 Member
    bubaluboo wrote: »
    @livingleanlivingclean I guess that will have to suffice. It would be nice to know though. There's such a huge difference between them that it could be possible to get to an unhealthy level and think you're OK...not that there's seriously any concern that I'd get that low ha ha.

    @Leslierussell4134 I looked into this a while back and can't find anywhere nearby that offers this service (York, UK). I'd definitely do it for $45!

    That's a bummer, all the health clubs and gyms do it around here as a service to members at least once per year. I guess you'll just have to take a holiday out this way and sign up :)
    (But that would cost you much more than the $45 lol)
  • bubaluboo
    bubaluboo Posts: 2,098 Member
    A bit more expensive, but I'd happily take the trip :)
  • ExRelaySprinter
    ExRelaySprinter Posts: 874 Member
    edited June 2015
    How about this @bubaluboo
    http://www.bcom.ac.uk/bcom-clinic/bodpod (assessment £40)
    More info here: http://www.uhcw.nhs.uk/hmru/faqs
  • bubaluboo
    bubaluboo Posts: 2,098 Member
    Thanks @ExRelaySprinter. London is a bit far but perhaps I can find something nearer if I look into it again.
  • mattyc772014
    mattyc772014 Posts: 3,543 Member
    Dont forget a mirror. It is free and will give you the best results. :)
  • colors_fade
    colors_fade Posts: 464 Member
    Leslierussell4134 wrote: »

    The gold standard for determining body fat is called hydrostatic body fat composition testing.
    Fancy talk for submerge you in water with a light weight over your body so you don't float up to surface. They instruct you to exhale all the air in your lungs and hold you breath for a few seconds while a underwater scale weighs you determining your composting of fat, and lean mass etc. It's pretty cool, costs about $45 when you sign up at local health clubs who provide the service periodically. I've done it a few times and entered challenges of who can lose the greatest weight without losing muscle. Very cool and healthy to know your % of body fat.

    Thanks for this description Leslie. I've always wondered what that entailed. Neat to know some clubs actually do it for a reasonable fee.

  • colors_fade
    colors_fade Posts: 464 Member
    mattyc772014 wrote: »
    Dont forget a mirror. It is free and will give you the best results. :)

    As long as you don't have dismorphia...

    The mirror is a big lie to a lot of people.

  • lesliezimmer
    lesliezimmer Posts: 85 Member
    I did hydrostatic bodyfat and metabolic testing thru a local hospital company and it was $99 for both services. I was/am 31% body fat and my metabolism was 12% faster than women my age/height/weight.

    I thought it gave me awesome information on how much I should be eating etc... At the time, I was trying for 1300-1400 cals a day and feeling starving and then bingeing, and the metabolic testing proved that that was about my RMR! I should have been eating AT LEAST 1700-1900! That's when the whole "eat more to lose successfully" comment turned an "on" switch in my mind.
  • mattyc772014
    mattyc772014 Posts: 3,543 Member
    @colors_fade It is still free......
  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
    While the absolute number may not be the most accurate, if you take your measurements at a consistent time with a person who is decently competent, you can get a good trend over time to measure progress.
  • bubaluboo
    bubaluboo Posts: 2,098 Member
    @mattyc772014 honestly, I was hoping the mirror lies ha ha
    @colors_fade problem is, how does a dysmorphic know they are?
    @rybo I think the term decently competent is important there. I followed videos and repeated measurements so hopefully I was reasonably so.
  • mattyc772014
    mattyc772014 Posts: 3,543 Member
    @bubaluboo :) Do you have a mirror that talks back to you? lol :)
  • colors_fade
    colors_fade Posts: 464 Member
    bubaluboo wrote: »
    @colors_fade problem is, how does a dysmorphic know they are?

    Well, the first clue is probably people telling you how they perceive how you look (you look so thin!), and those comments no meshing with how you perceive yourself (I am a fat cow).

    Pictures usually are another clue. You see yourself in a picture someone else took and you're, like, "Wait a second... I feel huge, but I look really skinny in that picture. Is that how I really look?"

    There are online quizzes, etc. If a person has a suspicion that they are dysmorphic, they should check into it.

    I have a loved one who has this disorder. It's difficult... I didn't even know body dysmorphia existed until a couple years ago.

    I find the mirror, dysmorphia or not, to be less reliable than a scale as far as metric measurements go.

    The key to any metric is using it not as an absolute, but in relation to other metrics for progress measurement. The number on a scale, or a bodyfat percentage, don't tell the story; they tell an instance in time. What matters is repeated measurements over time, so we can look at the data historically and get a representation of progress.

    A mirror can't really do that very well, especially with the human brain doing the interpretation. Pictures are far more valuable in that case.

  • bubaluboo
    bubaluboo Posts: 2,098 Member
    mattyc772014 wrote: »
    @bubaluboo :) Do you have a mirror that talks back to you? lol :)

    Ha ha, it says that snow white is the fairest of them all for some reason!
  • bubaluboo
    bubaluboo Posts: 2,098 Member
    @colors_fade I doubt that I actually have body dysmorphia but I probably have too high a standard that I'm trying to achieve. Dysmorphia must be so difficult to live with!
  • ejbronte
    ejbronte Posts: 867 Member
    bubaluboo wrote: »
    mattyc772014 wrote: »
    @bubaluboo :) Do you have a mirror that talks back to you? lol :)

    Ha ha, it says that snow white is the fairest of them all for some reason!

    https://youtube.com/watch?v=ZjOCX-Kp6Xg

    Enjoy!

  • bubaluboo
    bubaluboo Posts: 2,098 Member
    @ejbronte I'm now traumatised ha ha!
  • senecarr
    senecarr Posts: 5,377 Member
    You could fake a concern over bone density to your general practitioner and try to get a DEXA scan covered for you.
  • bubaluboo
    bubaluboo Posts: 2,098 Member
    senecarr wrote: »
    You could fake a concern over bone density to your general practitioner and try to get a DEXA scan covered for you.

    Sneaky, I like it and could probably get away with it given my family history but I'm not sure it's that easy here in the dark ages (I mean Yorkshire, England).
  • senecarr
    senecarr Posts: 5,377 Member
    bubaluboo wrote: »
    senecarr wrote: »
    You could fake a concern over bone density to your general practitioner and try to get a DEXA scan covered for you.

    Sneaky, I like it and could probably get away with it given my family history but I'm not sure it's that easy here in the dark ages (I mean Yorkshire, England).

    I think a fair number of radiology labs can do the procedure.
  • kristinels
    kristinels Posts: 315 Member
    bubaluboo wrote: »
    mattyc772014 wrote: »
    @bubaluboo :) Do you have a mirror that talks back to you? lol :)

    Ha ha, it says that snow white is the fairest of them all for some reason!

    That's ok - It's better to be Elsa anyway ;)
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcrQvoCzs80

    I use a horribly inaccurate scale. But, I've lost 18 lbs so far and my BF% has gone down - so even if it's not accurate, at least it's consistently inaccurate as I drop the lbs.
  • ejbronte
    ejbronte Posts: 867 Member
    bubaluboo wrote: »
    @ejbronte I'm now traumatised ha ha!

    Glad you liked it! It's one of my favorite Carol Burnett routines.

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