My body fat suggests I'm obese :-s

tinatw

Hello guys.

Basically i did my gym review the other day and they tested my body far with one of those hand held electrical body fat testers it said my body fat is 32% which suggests I'm obese. I'm 5'2 and weigh 8.3 and a dress size uk8 sometimes a uk6 and would say I'm fairly toned so I just don't get it does any one know if I can get a more accurate reading?

Thanks you

X

benno1978

Hi

I'm not sure what you mean by one of those hand held electrical body fat testers - is it one of those that sends an electrical impulse and measures the electrical impedance? If so they are not very reliable. Skin-fold measurements with callipers would be much more accurate ask your gym if they can do callipers to compare the results (you should get someone trained to use them to get accurate results) I was measuring my BF with scales that work on bioelectrical impedance and the calliper result was a lot different (lower BF on calliper measurement)

Did you work out before the test that can screw up the reading - and cause an overestimation of body fat (by up to 19kg underestimation of fat-free mass) - it's generally recommended not to perform BIA for several hours after moderate or high intensity exercise. (I'd be concerned if your gym don't know this tbh)

some other known issue with bioelectrical impedance are

dehydration which can cause an overestimation of body fat (by up to 5kg underestimation of fat-free mass)
variations throughout the day - up to 10% variance between highest and lowest figures in a day

It doesn't sound like you're anywhere near obese - your BMI works out as 21.4 which is right in the middle of normal and if that's you in the profile pic you def don't look even slightly overweight

32% is just into the obese range for women accoridng to this ACE chart http://www.builtlean.com/2010/08/03/ideal-body-fat-percentage-chart/

neandermagnon

those things are not terribly accurate.... might be better to try getting your body fat measured with calipers instead, this directly measures subcutaneous fat

it is possible to be obese according to body fat while you're within the healthy BMI weight range and look fairly slim. this is called normal weight obesity, and the cause is being sedentary and skipping meals or starving yourself or otherwise eating very little. This results in loss of lean body mass, while the body still is carrying too much fat, so the weight falls in the healthy range, but the body composition is far from healthy.

If you exercise regularly and eat well, and have not been starving yourself or eating way too little, it's most likely that the reading is wrong. If you've been starving yourself, or undereating + overdoing cardio, then it's possible you have normal weight obesity.

Also, if you are reasonably toned up and not flabby, that also suggests that the reading is wrong. People with normal weight obesity are thin, but flabby and lack any kind of "tone" or shape, because the muscles are wasted away under a thickish layer of fat. If that doesn't sound like you, ignore the reading.

delicious_cocktail

:noway:


If accuracy matters, you can get hydrostatically tested. I'd venture to say that even calipers are better than impedance testing.

However, numbers aren't particularly important. I'd be happy to weigh 250 pounds with 30% BF as long as I was healthy, not flabby, functionally strong, and liked the way I looked.

EvgeniZyntx

You look great. Those machines are not very accurate - see delicious' post^

Ophidion

Some times visual comparison can be the more effective method, machine methods can be out considerably due to a high amount of variables.

Try this link...

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1105598-bodyfat-estimation-thread

Ophidion

However, numbers aren't particularly important. I'd be happy to weigh 250 pounds with 30% BF as long as I was healthy, not flabby, functionally strong, and liked the way I looked.

Numbers or metrics are a great way to track progress but in the end ultimately it is how you feel about yourself, are you happy with how you look? Do you feel stronger and happier etc

DebbieLyn63

Might we assume that your profile pic is not a current one of you? If that IS what you look like now, then no, you are no where near obese. I don't know what your weight is in lbs. What is your BMI?

Did the math- if 8.3 is equal to 115 lbs, then no, you are not even overweight, much less obese. Machine is screwed up. Carry on.

BarbellBlondieRuns

They are not accurate. I bought one hoping that it'd at least be consistent... no luck. After weeks of eating at a deficit & running hard & lifting heavy, it said that my body fat increased. Um, nope. Not a chance. It screws with your head a bit too even though it's not accurate. I took a recent progress pic of myself at the gym and could easily see the increased muscle tone. Feel free to add me as a friend.

BarbellBlondieRuns

Also, BMI is not meant for individual use. It's a population tool. What your BMI is doesn't amount to much, especially if you lead a healthy lifestyle.

RobP1192

I went to my doctor's to get a physical, and he told me by my weight and height that i am considered "obese". He looked at me and just told me "i'm suppose to tell you that". He admitted that BMI doesn't take into account muscle mass, but then did mention that even with lean muscle mass, it comes down to how much stress is put on the heart when you're "overweight".

janicelo1971

clearly we can all see from your pictures you are not obese...get a more reliable test if it really matters

taiyola

Have you heard of 'skinny fat'? You can be slim or skinny and still be made up of more fat as opposed to more muscle.

Plus, as others have said, most of the equipment used to measure BF% isn't 100% accurate, more of an indication. You look great, so if you're happy with the way you look, I wouldn't worry.

EDollah

Of all the gadgets I've bought for my fitness effort, my hand held bf% analyzer is the biggest waste of money.

I take weekly measurements with it still, even though I came to the conclusion that it was bollocks a couple of months ago. For comparison, I do a Bod Pod analysis every 30 pounds or so, just for comparison and validation, since the Bod Pod is regarded as fairly reliable. What I've noticed is that the hand held device underestimated fat when I started, significantly actually. Now it significantly overestimates fat, compared to Bod Pod and other techniques I use to verify (such as online bf% estimators).

Why I don't just throw it out I don't know. I certainly would advise anyone to not put stock in the results they got and would strongly try to dissuade anyone from spending their money on one.

Tina if you genuinely want to know your bf% then you can see if a Bod Pod is available in your area. DEXA scans are supposed to be good too, though perhaps more expensive.

psuLemon

Bioimpadence machinces can be off by as much as 6% based on hydration levels. But if you do have high body fat and low weight, it means you are lacking enough lean body mass. Essentially adding some muscle and then doing a cut (aka a bulk/cut phase) will lower your overall body fat % and provide more definition. It just a question if you want to do that. It's also possible (but takes very low) that you can eat at maintenance, concentrate on weight training and see composition changes.

DebbieLyn63

Hmmm, a 5'2" glamour model from the UK, who weighs 115 lbs and was told she was obese.
And a profile pic that looks like a SIMMS character.

Lots of things do not add up here.

yarwell

BMI = 21

Middle of healthy. Not obese.

Move along, nothing to see here.

Rocky_ZG

Hello guys.

Basically i did my gym review the other day and they tested my body far with one of those hand held electrical body fat testers it said my body fat is 32% which suggests I'm obese. I'm 5'2 and weigh 8.3 and a dress size uk8 sometimes a uk6 and would say I'm fairly toned so I just don't get it does any one know if I can get a more accurate reading?

Thanks you

X

One of those hand held pieces of s**t tells me that I have 41% of fat.
And high class biometric scales say 25.5% which seems more accurate.
So go and find biometric scales somewhere. Some doctors or pharmacysts should have them.

tinatw

Hmmm, a 5'2" glamour model from the UK, who weighs 115 lbs and was told she was obese.
And a profile pic that looks like a SIMMS character.

Lots of things do not add up here.

I'm not sure if you meant that to sound rude or not, I just wanted everyone's opinion as I have been told that it can be day around the organs etc even if physically I don't look fat and try to find a better way to measure body fat so i could get a more accurate reading.

Anyway thanks for your help

Tina

tinatw

Thank you very much! I feel so much better now it's just the fact that after he tested me he I actually asked how accurate they are and he was like "they are very accurate" I think it's terrible they can say things like this! I used to struggle with eating disorders and back then something like this would have really done my head in! I'm deffo going to try that!

Thank you!

X

Hello guys.

Basically i did my gym review the other day and they tested my body far with one of those hand held electrical body fat testers it said my body fat is 32% which suggests I'm obese. I'm 5'2 and weigh 8.3 and a dress size uk8 sometimes a uk6 and would say I'm fairly toned so I just don't get it does any one know if I can get a more accurate reading?

Thanks you

X

One of those hand held pieces of s**t tells me that I have 41% of fat.
And high class biometric scales say 25.5% which seems more accurate.
So go and find biometric scales somewhere. Some doctors or pharmacysts should have them.

tinatw

They are not accurate. I bought one hoping that it'd at least be consistent... no luck. After weeks of eating at a deficit & running hard & lifting heavy, it said that my body fat increased. Um, nope. Not a chance. It screws with your head a bit too even though it's not accurate. I took a recent progress pic of myself at the gym and could easily see the increased muscle tone. Feel free to add me as a friend.
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Thank you for this! That's unbelievable they shouldn't even be able to sell these things! Lol I'm defintely not using it again anyway. Well done with your progress and keep up the hard work :-)

X