Best testing method for Body Fat?

Oxmarqt

I did a search but didn't find anything that really answered this for me. It might just be me though....

I have the opportunity (avail. money and time) to have my BF figured. The location (which SHOULD be reputable and professional) offers multiple services and I have another source that can do a 3 point ultrasound analysis.

I am comfortable paying up up to the $75 that is listed as the highest cost so which will give me the most reliability and bang for my buck?

Dexa scan @ $75
Bod Pod @ $35
Hydrostatic @ $45
Ultrasound @ $25
There is also an option for skinfolds, hydrostatic and Bod Pod for $75.

List of services at this link -> http://eslab.ehe.osu.edu/body-composition/

Any advice appreciated. I want to do this because my ultimate goal is a 22% BF. No idea what my weight would be and don't really care as long as the BF% is right.

Cortelli

FWIW I have done 4 hydros and paired one of those hydros up with a DEXA scan the same morning. The DEXA and hydro were very, very close in terms of reports. The DEXA gives you an idea of where you tend to carry fat; the hydro doesn't - it just reports an overall amount.

Never done a bod pod. Never done calipers, but am led to believe that in the hands of a competent practitioner, they can be pretty accurate. Bio-impedance / electrical handhelds and scales are worthless IMHO. Don't know what a three-point ultrasound is.

For me personally, I am pretty happy with the hydros I get. That said, next time I do one I am going to again pair a DEXA the same morning just to compare the different outputs.

JeffInJax

Im actually curious about this as well, as ive been looking around jacksonville for some form of reliable testing, so i can better set my goals.

amgerbin

I've always done the calipers, with an experienced person. It's pretty accurate. But if you measure a bunch of things, you'll get a pretty good idea of where you stand. I wouldn't worry about a specific number, that's just too much to worry about!

Azdak

Most accurate method is to render your body into its different components and then weigh them.

Unfortunately, this can only be done once.

Given your choices, I would go with the DEXA.

minizebu

I'll let others weigh in on the best measure for body fat, but don't overlook the $50 Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) test, if you have not already done one.

It will give you a much better estimate (specific to you, personally) of how many calories your body requires at rest, than online calculators. You can then use that information, coupled with information about your regular exercise habits to determine the amount of calories you should be eating daily to help you meet your weight goal.

Here is a link to a sample of a report that you might receive following an RMR test:

http://korr.com/products/metacheck/

(You have to click the tab that reads "Testing" and then click the button at the bottom of that page that reads "The Print Out" to see the sample report.)

bohemian124

I don't really know about the other methods, but I got a lot of good info from bod pod testing.

Oxmarqt

FWIW I have done 4 hydros and paired one of those hydros up with a DEXA scan the same morning. The DEXA and hydro were very, very close in terms of reports. The DEXA gives you an idea of where you tend to carry fat; the hydro doesn't - it just reports an overall amount.

Don't know what a three-point ultrasound is.

Is there a benefit of the DEXA over the hydro? If fat falls off where it wants to, knowing where you have really makes no difference as you cannot spot lose it. Maybe it is just the additional information. Would be interesting?

The ultrasound is taken at 3 points - shoulder, abdomen, thigh. The readings are then put into the Jackson-Pollack formula and viola, BF percentage. Similar to the calipers without the pinching or issues with reproducing reliably.

Chief_Rocka

First you need to think about why you need the information. If your goal is to "look good naked" then knowing your bodyfat percentage is a number as useless as the one on the scale, because your goal is driven primarily by what you see in the mirror. If this is the case, then my advice would be to keep your money in your pocket and either (a) google some pictures of bodyfat percentage examples and compare yourself against those, or (b) if you're not at your goal yet, just keeping working until you get there, and forget about the number completely.

Cortelli

Is there a benefit of the DEXA over the hydro? If fat falls off where it wants to, knowing where you have really makes no difference as you cannot spot lose it. Maybe it is just the additional information. Would be interesting?

Some people believe it might be a smidge more accurate than a hydro. Not sure I believe the difference is meaningful.

DEXAs can be very beneficial for a bodybuilder or someone similarly inclined to very precisely "reshape" one's body -- it can show the amounts of lean mass (and fat) in smaller body segments, so someone who is not just focused on losing fat or adding mass but instead has a specific goal like adding lean mass to arms or legs, for example, can use DEXAs to track specifics and not just overall changes, and therefore modify a training approach as needed.

I am nowhere near that specific in desire. However, I did enjoy confirming that I tend to hold fat around my lower abdomen and sides of trunk -- during a bulk I feel like I can get a better gauge of how much fat I'm adding by focusing on those areas where I know my body stores it as a preference. But that is really down in the weeds. Mostly I just like data.

I remain happy with hydros, but like Azdak I'd probably get a DEXA if faced with your choices. It's an interesting experience, at least once. For my regular testing, I'll stick to cheaper hydros.

EDIT: for auto-corrected wrong word.

missdibs1

Why am I the only one who CANNOT find a dexo or hydro in my area? Anyone out thee done these i northern NJ?

BusyRaeNOTBusty

First you need to think about why you need the information. If your goal is to "look good naked" then knowing your bodyfat percentage is a number as useless as the one on the scale, because your goal is driven primarily by what you see in the mirror. If this is the case, then my advice would be to keep your money in your pocket and either (a) google some pictures of bodyfat percentage examples and compare yourself against those, or (b) if you're not at your goal yet, just keeping working until you get there, and forget about the number completely.

Pretty much this.

DavPul

what are you going to do with the information? people put way too much stock in trying to figure out hyper accurate BF%. it's just a number, and if you don't like the way you look, you're going to keep dieting and exercising. if you like the way you look, what' the number do? give you bragging rights?

if you want to get a number to compare progress to previous months, go ahead, but i wouldn't waste a stack of bills by choosing the most expensive option.

Oxmarqt

what are you going to do with the information? people put way too much stock in trying to figure out hyper accurate BF%. it's just a number, and if you don't like the way you look, you're going to keep dieting and exercising. if you like the way you look, what' the number do? give you bragging rights?

if you want to get a number to compare progress to previous months, go ahead, but i wouldn't waste a stack of bills by choosing the most expensive option.

I have chosen to use the BF number as my goal. Don't really care about the scale number. Don't really care about a pants size. Don't really care how I look naked because once you get me to that point you will be so impressed with what I do you will forget what I look like anyway!! O-O

I have been "heavy" most of my life and just plain fat for the last 10 years. I have no idea when I was last under 210lbs frankly. Fat is the problem that causes health issues as opposed to muscle, bone, water and organs. Based on the ultrasound method I mentioned earlier I had a BF% of 31.2% @ 311lbs. If that is truly the case then I have a significant lean mass, approx. 214lbs. Hitting the high end BMI for my height of 180lbs seems unlikely. My plan is to work toward 25% BF and see how I look and then move to to 22% BF if possible. My guess, and the guess of my Dr., is that I will end up somewhere around 215-225 lbs.

The money isn't that much of an issue because since starting this I have cut out 5-6 cokes a day down to zero a day and have significantly cut back on my smoking (working toward quitting altogether) which has freed up a fair amount of cash. Roughly $7 a day over the last 45 days = $315.00. Just the last 45 days of savings will pay to have this type of testing done 4-5 times or about every 3 months.

DopeItUp

what are you going to do with the information? people put way too much stock in trying to figure out hyper accurate BF%. it's just a number, and if you don't like the way you look, you're going to keep dieting and exercising. if you like the way you look, what' the number do? give you bragging rights?

if you want to get a number to compare progress to previous months, go ahead, but i wouldn't waste a stack of bills by choosing the most expensive option.

I have chosen to use the BF number as my goal. Don't really care about the scale number. Don't really care about a pants size. Don't really care how I look naked because once you get me to that point you will be so impressed with what I do you will forget what I look like anyway!! O-O

I have been "heavy" most of my life and just plain fat for the last 10 years. I have no idea when I was last under 210lbs frankly. Fat is the problem that causes health issues as opposed to muscle, bone, water and organs. Based on the ultrasound method I mentioned earlier I had a BF% of 31.2% @ 311lbs. If that is truly the case then I have a significant lean mass, approx. 214lbs. Hitting the high end BMI for my height of 180lbs seems unlikely. My plan is to work toward 25% BF and see how I look and then move to to 22% BF if possible. My guess, and the guess of my Dr., is that I will end up somewhere around 215-225 lbs.

The money isn't that much of an issue because since starting this I have cut out 5-6 cokes a day down to zero a day and have significantly cut back on my smoking (working toward quitting altogether) which has freed up a fair amount of cash. Roughly $7 a day over the last 45 days = $315.00. Just the last 45 days of savings will pay to have this type of testing done 4-5 times or about every 3 months.

How tall are you? Your numbers seem way off which is why I'm curious. Also, where did you get your goal from? Ideal bodyfat % would be under 20 (20% being quite chubby still but the high end of normal). If you want to get to a healthy body fat level I'm thinking your weight is gonna be a lot lower than you think it is, unless you're 6'8".

ETA: keep in mind, regardless of what your BF% is now (I'd go with the DEXA if it were me), it's not gonna tell you a whole lot at this stage. Reason being, you will lose lean body mass and fat over the course of your diet so calculating your goal weight now isn't going to be that realistic. It'll be ballpark at least. Realistically you just need to lose weight and see where you're at, once you get there.

dbmata

Dexa. You get some solid data from it.

Azdak

Given that I do body fat assessments on a regular basis, I will admit that I am biased in favor of body fat % as an important metric to track.

I have found that most people find the information extremely valuable when I explain it. I find it interesting too, since every measurement tells a different story.

It really helps to show the breakdown of fat vs fat-free mass. There are still a lot of people that don't understand the difference and feel frustrated with only numbers like the scale or a BMI calculation.

Fat-free mass helps give important insight into a person's "frame" size and is necessary to provide a meaningful (and accurate) goal weight. It allows me to let people know if their goals are realistic.

If you use a method that provides segmental information, then it can also provide information about fat distribution patterns. This is especially useful for people who tend to store fat in their abdominal area. They don't always enjoy hearing the news, but it saves them from hours of wasted time doing ab exercises.

As fun as those are, it's doing serial measurements over time that really is interesting. Seeing the changes (or lack thereof) and figuring out/explaining what is going on is a great challenge that requires all your knowledge and experience.

Cielazul

I did the Bod Pod and RMR testing at a local university sports medicine testing center. They told me they do lots of testing of professional athletes, etc, so I figured the information I would get probably would be pretty accurate.

It was an easy experience and I will probably do it again in about six months to see how I have progressed.

ninerbuff

As mentioned, what are you trying to find out? Most people will know if they are too fat. It would make more sense to get tested once you're down to the ideal weight/look you want to be. And maybe even then, you may not care.

If it's just out of curiosities sake, then go hydro.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Cortelli

As fun as those are, it's doing serial measurements over time that really is interesting. Seeing the changes (or lack thereof) and figuring out/explaining what is going on is a great challenge that requires all your knowledge and experience.

Wholeheartedly agree.

Doing serial measurements during periods of loss allows one to estimate how efficient one is at losing fat and maintaining lean mass, which in turn informs one how effective one's training and eating approach is (in addition to the mystery factor of genetics). Serial measurements can be a great early-warning indicator that a different approach is warranted, or a comforting confirmation that one is more or less on the right track.

And serial measurements when trying to gain lean mass allows one a better understanding of one's capability to gain lean mass (on one's training and eating approaches), and set reasonable expectations about how much fat is going to tag along with the lean mass gains. Again, a nice early warning system.

In each case, I think it is very helpful in setting achievable goals, and in targeting certain specific scale weights when embarking on a loss or gain period. It is not an absolute predictor of where one is going to come out on either a numbers or a "visual look" basis, but it certainly helps devise a reasonable plan for achieving one's goals.

And if you can afford $50 or $75 bucks or whatever it is every three months (or whatever period you think makes sense), it may be worthwhile for you, and may be damn interesting too.

Oxmarqt

As fun as those are, it's doing serial measurements over time that really is interesting. Seeing the changes (or lack thereof) and figuring out/explaining what is going on is a great challenge that requires all your knowledge and experience.

Wholeheartedly agree.

Doing serial measurements during periods of loss allows one to estimate how efficient one is at losing fat and maintaining lean mass, which in turn informs one how effective one's training and eating approach is (in addition to the mystery factor of genetics). Serial measurements can be a great early-warning indicator that a different approach is warranted, or a comforting confirmation that one is more or less on the right track.

And serial measurements when trying to gain lean mass allows one a better understanding of one's capability to gain lean mass (on one's training and eating approaches), and set reasonable expectations about how much fat is going to tag along with the lean mass gains. Again, a nice early warning system.

In each case, I think it is very helpful in setting achievable goals, and in targeting certain specific scale weights when embarking on a loss or gain period. It is not an absolute predictor of where one is going to come out on either a numbers or a "visual look" basis, but it certainly helps devise a reasonable plan for achieving one's goals.

And if you can afford $50 or $75 bucks or whatever it is every three months (or whatever period you think makes sense), it may be worthwhile for you, and may be damn interesting too.

^^^^^This^^^^^