Body fat measuring machine ??

missnaynay

Hi does anyone else use the body fat measuring machine in the gym? I've been using them for the past few weeks my weight has been up and down but my body fat is going down. Are these accurate ? Thanks

sijomial

They can be horrendously inaccurate, Using them in the gym when your hydration levels could well be all over the place is also just about the worst time to try and get a trend.

At best if you get one that measures your whole body (not just only hand or only feet sensors) you might be able to get a believable trend if you could use them under consistent conditions over an extended period of time.

missnaynay

Thanks for your reply I do use them at the same time every week first thing in the morning before eating or drinking and before my work out.

sijomial

missnaynay wrote: »

Thanks for your reply I do use them at the same time every week first thing in the morning before eating or drinking and before my work out.

That might work then - you may get some strange spikes but if you are consistent you can ignore them, fat changes are slow remember, fast changes tend to be water related. The number may well not be empirically accurate of course but unless you are competing then knowing your "real" number isn't that important.

If you look at the pictures and read the descriptions here it will give you some idea http://www.builtlean.com/2012/09/24/body-fat-percentage-men-women/

Unfortunately some BIA scales are just totally hopeless so it's luck of the draw, I've got a set of bathroom scales that makes me 33%.

Norjope

If you don't mind the expense of a DEXASCAN,you can get a good reading of actual body fat percentage.

deannalfisher

depends what kind of machine it is, most gym based ones are notoriously inaccurate, but a clinical level one for accuracy will get you in close proximity to your actual results

stanmann571

As everyone else has said. Without knowing what sort of machine, it's impossible to say.

But some of the clinical BIA machines are close enough to right.

IF the machine looks something like this, and the output comes out as shown, then you're getting meaningful data.

You probably won't see useful data if you get a scan every week, because the machines do still have a margin of error, but every 6-12 weeks is probably not a bad idea.

If the machine doesn't look like this, your scale at home is just as good.

deannalfisher

stanmann571 wrote: »

As everyone else has said. Without knowing what sort of machine, it's impossible to say.

But some of the clinical BIA machines are close enough to right.

IF the machine looks something like this, and the output comes out as shown, then you're getting meaningful data.

You probably won't see useful data if you get a scan every week, because the machines do still have a margin of error, but every 6-12 weeks is probably not a bad idea.

If the machine doesn't look like this, your scale at home is just as good.

this is the one that I use to have my body comp assessment done every 3-4 months

DanceMinx

Where are you getting this done?

JeromeBarry1

The 4-point electrical impedance device, in which you stand barefoot on 4 metallic contact points and hold metallic contacts in your hands, is neither consistent nor accurate, but it is consistently easier than any other method of getting inaccurate results. If you use the same device in the same condition of fed and hydration each time, you do the best you can at getting consistent results.

I have such a device built in to my scales at home. I use that device to test my body fat occasionally. My chart of body fat% logs went from over 40% to 10% over the course of the 17 months that I lost 100 lb. The most recent reading of 10% was taken only minutes after I was hydrostatically tested and found to be composed of 14.3% body fat. Hydrostatic testing is the most accurate method available.