Body Fat Percentage

Krys_T

Ok, so I went to the gym yesterday and they did an assessment. He put me on a scale and this receipt prints out with my weight, body fat percentage, BMI, healthy ranges for these, etc.

My question is how accurate are these scales for body fat percentage? Or would it be best to go somewhere where they use the calipers?


Thank you in advance for the input.

Jeff92se

Everything has an error factor.

If you want it THAT accurate, then you have to do the Bod Pod or the water immersion (dunk tank) type.

As long as it's accurate test to test, that's fine. ie.. I wouldn't do the electrical one, then swap to bod pod and then try to compare.

CarolineSuzanneSmith

Ahh..the BOD POD! I have serious horror stories from that thing. BUT, it's the most accurate way to get your BMI, and the results (if you know you're overweight) are truly life-altering, and really motivate you to lose weight!

mikethom

I use the BF% on my home scale as just a gage relative to itself; as long as the percentage keeps going down I don't worry at this point whether it is 38 or 40 it is still too high

ilovedeadlifts

didn't you already post this thread once today?


scales and calipers aren't very accurate

shamr0ck

My doctor uses the Tanita, which is what it sounds like your trainer used. They are moderately accurate. My trainer swears by calipers, but his readings are seriously off for me. I went and had a DEXA body composition scan, which is the new "gold standard", replacing water immersion tests because it is easier and just as accurate. The variation in the readings from these three measurements was 20 percentage points, with the calipers being the least accurate, and the tanita being within about 5 percentage points.

I plan on having a follow-up DEXA scan next month, to chart my progress. It has the added bonus of providing bone density readings, which is important for women as they age.

Krys_T

didn't you already post this thread once today?


scales and calipers aren't very accurate

I did, and didn't quite get the answers I was looking for. But I think I have the solution now.

Sonchie

This interests me as well. I have a very high body fat reading on the electronic type and have never had any other type. I lost over 100 lbs and have a great deal of excess skin which I feel adds to my body fat, however you measure it. At 5'3 and 113 lbs I really cant afford to lose much more weight, but would love to get my BF% down.