body composition test, worth it?

novamagma
novamagma Posts: 37 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So I'm considering throwing down 20 bucks at my university's gym to get a body composition test done. However I'm seeing a few things online about body comps being inaccurate or not worth the money. And god knows I pay enough tuition already that covers my gym so I don't want to spend an empty $20 that won't be useful to me. I don't have a smart scale but I also see that you can get bathroom scales that can tell you your body composition? However if a professional test is supposedly prone to error I can't imagine a scale bought on amazon would work well at all. I was just wondering if anyone has any insights into body composition testing, or could tell me how it works? Should I shell out the money for a test now or should I invest in a scale that might be able to track my comp over time? I feel like having an accurate reading on my health would give me the motivation I need to see real changes happen, as well as give me a direction to work towards, but if it's not worth it I'll spend the money on something else. Thanks!

Replies

  • youngmomtaz
    youngmomtaz Posts: 1,075 Member
    If the $20 is for a dexa I would go for it. There is one place in all of Manitoba and they charge $150 I think. Maybe $160. I am sure there is some margin of error that you can ask for details about but if you were to get tested at the same place on the same system again in the future it should at least show your progress fairly accurately.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    I'd only pay for a DEXA scan or Hydrostatic Weighing. If you can get either for $20, it's a great deal.

    Scales you can buy aren't especially accurate. For example, having a different level of hydration would skew your results.

    https://dailyburn.com/life/health/how-to-measure-body-fat-percentage/
  • Lillymoo01
    Lillymoo01 Posts: 2,865 Member
    $20 for a dexa scan would be money well spent. I personally wouldn't pay full price for one though because my goals in regards to body composition aren't that specific and going by how I look and feel is good enough for me.
    I wouldn't waste money on body composition scales though. Their inaccuracy is well known. Normal bathroom scales are as helpful long term.
  • novamagma
    novamagma Posts: 37 Member
    Thanks y'all! So is DEXA just a standard body comp test? The one where you stand on the scale and grab a bar? I've never done one before so I'm not sure what to expect. Can't seem to imagine how the technology works either
  • Theoldguy1
    Theoldguy1 Posts: 2,496 Member
    The attached article has pictures and descriptions of various %s. As note above unless you are getting a DEXA scan for $20 not worth it IMO.
    https://www.ruled.me/visually-estimate-body-fat-percentage/
  • Danp
    Danp Posts: 1,561 Member
    I'd never considered getting a scan and this thread prompted me to look into it.

    I found two places in Sydney (Aust) where I live that do Dexa scans and they're definitely not $20!! Both places offer scans in packages ranging from $110 for a single dexa scan, $225 for a dexa/metabolic test package and upwards for multi-scan packages.

    I'm curious, but not $110-$225 worth of curious =)
  • pierinifitness
    pierinifitness Posts: 2,226 Member
    $20 for a Dexa-scan is a good deal. However, if you’re hyper-frugal, buy a tape measure and measure your neck, waist and hips. Over time, the changes will provide good info to validate your morning mirror tests.
  • DanOutdoors
    DanOutdoors Posts: 17 Member
    the body fat scales may not give you an accurate number but it will track any changes, so you will get an idea if your gaining or losing fat.
  • tinkerbellang83
    tinkerbellang83 Posts: 9,130 Member
    DanOutdoors wrote: »
    the body fat scales may not give you an accurate number but it will track any changes, so you will get an idea if your gaining or losing fat.

    At $20 a pop you might as well buy your own for home for $30 rather than handing it over to a gym, if it's purely for trend.
  • Talan79
    Talan79 Posts: 782 Member
    It probably is not a Dexa and an InBody scan.
  • TrishSeren
    TrishSeren Posts: 587 Member
    DanOutdoors wrote: »
    the body fat scales may not give you an accurate number but it will track any changes, so you will get an idea if your gaining or losing fat.

    Not really, you can get wildly different results every time depending on a number of factors. Friend of mine got insanely different results with a months difference.
  • GaryRuns
    GaryRuns Posts: 508 Member
    TrishSeren wrote: »
    Not really, you can get wildly different results every time depending on a number of factors. Friend of mine got insanely different results with a months difference.

    That's true of weight measurements as well. Weight can vary pretty wildly day to day, but if you average it you can get a good idea of where you're at and if you're losing or gaining. The same is true of the electrical impedance devices. The absolute value they give is pretty worthless, but if you track it over time and use a running average it'll give you a pretty good way to tell if you're losing or gaining body fat.
  • GaryRuns
    GaryRuns Posts: 508 Member
    Our local university charges students $25 for a hydrostatic weighing, residual volume test. If the people running it are good, and aren't just trying to rush you through it, that would definitely be worth $25. That's arguably the best way to measure body fat there is. Some would say better than a dexa scan, although I think dexa is less prone to human error.
  • pierinifitness
    pierinifitness Posts: 2,226 Member
    I find Dexa-scan more convenient than hydrostatic. You've got to blow your lungs out to the max with the latter and then dry yourself off. I've had one hydrostatic measuring and a pair of Dexa-scan measurings. Moving forward, I'm a Dexa-scan man.
  • Maxxitt
    Maxxitt Posts: 1,281 Member
    So - it depends on what equipment is being used. For the caliper method, depends on the skill of the person administering.
  • novamagma
    novamagma Posts: 37 Member
    So from what I'm hearing I doubt the one my university is offering is DEXA, at least they don't advertise it as such. If it was, I feel like they would advertise it more if $20 is really such a good deal. Maybe I should just get a caliper and try to do it myself, at least that way I could average it out, especially since I would want to track my change over time
  • pierinifitness
    pierinifitness Posts: 2,226 Member
    Here’s what I use:

    https://www.bodymap360.com/category/dxa/
  • TrishSeren
    TrishSeren Posts: 587 Member
    GaryRuns wrote: »
    TrishSeren wrote: »
    Not really, you can get wildly different results every time depending on a number of factors. Friend of mine got insanely different results with a months difference.

    That's true of weight measurements as well. Weight can vary pretty wildly day to day, but if you average it you can get a good idea of where you're at and if you're losing or gaining. The same is true of the electrical impedance devices. The absolute value they give is pretty worthless, but if you track it over time and use a running average it'll give you a pretty good way to tell if you're losing or gaining body fat.

    Yeah but weighing yourself daily is easy, getting body scans even weekly could be expensive or not possible.
    I mean if you could get a body scan weekly then yes you could average it out, but the average person isn't able to do that.
  • GaryRuns
    GaryRuns Posts: 508 Member
    TrishSeren wrote: »
    GaryRuns wrote: »
    TrishSeren wrote: »
    Not really, you can get wildly different results every time depending on a number of factors. Friend of mine got insanely different results with a months difference.

    That's true of weight measurements as well. Weight can vary pretty wildly day to day, but if you average it you can get a good idea of where you're at and if you're losing or gaining. The same is true of the electrical impedance devices. The absolute value they give is pretty worthless, but if you track it over time and use a running average it'll give you a pretty good way to tell if you're losing or gaining body fat.

    Yeah but weighing yourself daily is easy, getting body scans even weekly could be expensive or not possible.
    I mean if you could get a body scan weekly then yes you could average it out, but the average person isn't able to do that.

    But if she's talking about an electrical impedance test my smart scale does that. It gives me my body fat percentage, weight, daily weather forecast, CO2 and washes my dishes. (okay, the last one isn't true, but I have an older model). You could also easily do daily measurements with a cheap pair of calipers.

    You obviously couldn't do it with a dexa scan or hydrostatic weighing, unless you work at one of the places that does them or you're fabulously wealthy, but then you wouldn't need to average those because they are excellent at giving you accurate absolute values.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    novamagma wrote: »
    So from what I'm hearing I doubt the one my university is offering is DEXA, at least they don't advertise it as such. If it was, I feel like they would advertise it more if $20 is really such a good deal. Maybe I should just get a caliper and try to do it myself, at least that way I could average it out, especially since I would want to track my change over time

    DIY caliper testing will limit the number of sites you can reach and it's very easy to stretch, put tension in your muscles and skew the results or use inconsistent points. For example if you carry a lot (or a little) of your fat on your back and can't get readings from your back the results won't be accurate.
    If you can get someone else to caliper test you it would be better, better again if that person has anatomical knowledge or training.

    Tape measure and progress photos are simple, repeatable and virtually free.

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