We are pleased to announce that as of March 4, 2025, an updated Rich Text Editor has been introduced in the MyFitnessPal Community. To learn more about the changes, please click here. We look forward to sharing this new feature with you!
Caliper/skinfold bodyfat estimate... huh?
NovemberJune
Posts: 2,525 Member
I got my body fat % estimated using calipers a few months ago. The estimate was 24.7% which seemed pretty accurate to me compared to Sara's and SS's estimate and my measurements (Navy BF% calculator). I got it checked again last week and it came to 24.7% again. I thought that made sense too. I'd only lost about 2 lbs, my clothes were fitting pretty much the same, different guys did the measurements each time, measurement error, etc.
But now I'm comparing the numbers from each test. They do a 5 site test that I can't find a formula for online but the total last time came to 93.5 and this time it came to 112. And each time that came to 24.7%?
Here are the results (they did measure each site twice and these are the averages of the 2):
Site
Last time
This time
tricep
17
21
scapula
15
11
illium
19.5
21
abdomen
15.5
25
thigh
31.5
34
TOTAL
93.5
112
So you can see the second time a few of the numbers jumped quite a bit and 1 went down. Abdomen from 15.5 to 25, really?
My question is--is there something I'm misunderstanding about the formulas for estimating body fat this way? Or I'm I right that someone must have screwed up and that the higher number should yield a higher body fat % not an equivalent one? Unless you all straighten me out somehow, my conclusion is that I should disregard these results completely which is fine. I won't waste my valuable gym time getting skin folds measured a third time
I may ask you all to estimate for me again in the future 
But now I'm comparing the numbers from each test. They do a 5 site test that I can't find a formula for online but the total last time came to 93.5 and this time it came to 112. And each time that came to 24.7%?
Here are the results (they did measure each site twice and these are the averages of the 2):
Site
Last time
This time
tricep
17
21
scapula
15
11
illium
19.5
21
abdomen
15.5
25
thigh
31.5
34
TOTAL
93.5
112
So you can see the second time a few of the numbers jumped quite a bit and 1 went down. Abdomen from 15.5 to 25, really?
My question is--is there something I'm misunderstanding about the formulas for estimating body fat this way? Or I'm I right that someone must have screwed up and that the higher number should yield a higher body fat % not an equivalent one? Unless you all straighten me out somehow, my conclusion is that I should disregard these results completely which is fine. I won't waste my valuable gym time getting skin folds measured a third time
I may ask you all to estimate for me again in the future 0
Replies
-
Not a lot of help here as I am not that familiar with the calculations, but tagging so it shows up on my wall.0
-
I think its just that calipers are really difficult to use properly.
If you're like most people, you don't really care about the specific number anyway, you just want to a) be moving in the right direction and b) eventually obtain a physique that you're happy with. Both of these goals are easily measured by simple photo comparisons.0 -
Thanks. I'll just stick with the mirror/pictures and how my clothes fit.
I think the numbers being so different, and some being up and others down shows that it's difficult to use the calipers properly but I was just baffled when I noticed that they came to the same body fat percentage with quite different numbers going into the equation. So I think they were also using their little card that shows what numbers come to which body fat % incorrectly? confused 0
This discussion has been closed.