Body fat percentage

4alison4

Ok. So the scale at my gym also tells you your body fat percentage. I have no idea what mine actually is but at 5'9" and 140 lbs, I guessing that it can't be what it reads. It says that I am 31.2% fat. Is this possible? Can anyone explain this to me? Thanks in advance

Mindful_Trent

That is certainly possible - it's called "skinny-fat" - people who aren't particularly overweight, but have a higher body fat percentage than they should.

That said, those scales are notoriously inaccurate. They're extremely finicky and it doesn't take much to cause them to give an inaccurate reading. If you're interested in really knowing your body fat %, you're better off finding a location near you that does underwater, DEXA or bod-pod body composition testing.

Edited to add: another option (cheaper but potentially less accurate) to the testing I mentioned above is getting someone to measure your body fat with calipers. You have to find someone who is trained and experienced - it's easy to do it wrong and get bad results, but it can be fairly accurate when done well.

here's some info on different testing methods: http://www2.gsu.edu/~wwwfit/bodycomp.html

Adsnwfld

Don't believe it, as an experiment see what it says before then post workout, the change in water in your system will change it.
The best is to get dipped in a tub and have your fat calculated, followed by measurements then the electronic stuff.
So don't stress.

Russellb97

Try this
http://www.scientificpsychic.com/fitness/diet.html