Am I seriously obese? 41% Body Fat

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  • cheshirequeen
    cheshirequeen Posts: 1,324 Member
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    i wasnt thinking chest either. mine are on the larger size as well. maybe i should weigh them and ask the trainer if im overweight now:laugh:
  • mfpcopine
    mfpcopine Posts: 3,093 Member
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    It looks like a device that uses bioimpedance (look it up) to estimate fat and it combines the features of a scale and a hand-held body fat calculator. Although bioimpedance is not the gold standard, your reading may actually be pretty accurate.

    The thing with bioimpedance is that they will usually measure water as fat, so they can especially be inaccurate for women, who tend to retain water more than men.

    Also, boobs may contain a good amount of fat but they are not all fat. They are also mammary glands. They amount of actual fat can vary greatly.

    You can still use a bioimpedance scale's reading as a baseline. If you reduce fat in your diet, exercise, and lose weight, the bodyfat % reading should go down, too, whatever it is. As I said, previously, you should weigh yourself at the same time under the same conditions.
  • lbetancourt
    lbetancourt Posts: 522 Member
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    you don't seriously think you are obese, do you?

    keep up the good work!!
  • mfpcopine
    mfpcopine Posts: 3,093 Member
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    Apparently it's possible even for thin people to have high body fat. I've read that some people seem to accumulate visceral fat, which won't make you look fat, but is said to be bad for your health.


    True. And as people age, they often develop more visceral body fat, as opposed to subcutaneous fat.
  • half_moon
    half_moon Posts: 807 Member
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    i wasnt thinking chest either. mine are on the larger size as well. maybe i should weigh them and ask the trainer if im overweight now:laugh:

    Haha!!

    If I didn't count my boobs, I'd be around 150 (36DDD... five pounds each?). So, weight does that mean I only have 10 pounds to lose? LMAO.
  • mfpcopine
    mfpcopine Posts: 3,093 Member
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    There is no way you are 41%. When I started MFP I weighed 229.8 and was 40.5%. and I'm 5'3". MFP has a great tool under the TOOLS tab, called the BMI, it will calculate your body fat for you anytime. according to your weight and height you are 27.8%/

    Um, you do know that your BMI is not your bodyfat percentage?

    Sadly, more than one person in this thread does not understand the difference. Still others are criticizing the BMI, which, while not important to people who are knowledgeable about fitness, usually IS predictive of obesity unless you have an unusually large frame or the muscles of an athlete.
  • half_moon
    half_moon Posts: 807 Member
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    There is no way you are 41%. When I started MFP I weighed 229.8 and was 40.5%. and I'm 5'3". MFP has a great tool under the TOOLS tab, called the BMI, it will calculate your body fat for you anytime. according to your weight and height you are 27.8%/

    Um, you do know that your BMI is not your bodyfat percentage?

    Sadly, more than one person in this thread does not understand the difference. Still others are criticizing the BMI, which, while not important to people who are knowledgeable about fitness, usually IS predictive of obesity unless you have an unusually large frame or the muscles of an athlete.


    So I AM obese? Lord.
  • cheshirequeen
    cheshirequeen Posts: 1,324 Member
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    i wasnt thinking chest either. mine are on the larger size as well. maybe i should weigh them and ask the trainer if im overweight now:laugh:

    Haha!!

    If I didn't count my boobs, I'd be around 150 (36DDD... five pounds each?). So, weight does that mean I only have 10 pounds to lose? LMAO.



    You are NOT obese. and those sure would add some weight. mine are only 36dd. i feel so small:laugh:
  • gramacanada
    gramacanada Posts: 558 Member
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    We're all too hung up on numbers. My opinion. I'm the same height as you and only a few pounds lighter. I went by the BMI body fat chart that's been in use for ages. Which isn't perfect either, but WoW. It says I am close to the top of unhealthy, but nowhere near 40 some %. Can't remember exactly. MFP has it somewhere. Don't remember where (again) : ). It's easily Googleable. Sounds like you're right. The gym might well have been just selling you their program. Whatever it is we know food choices and exercise will lower it. Good Luck.
  • LesleeBeAlive
    LesleeBeAlive Posts: 504
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    TrTry putting your measurements into the military body fat % calculator on fat2fitradio.com and try again in a month or two


    I just tested this site and it is rubbish.
    I got tested for my BMI a month ago on a military base and my BMI was 34.5% and I am smaller now and just did the BMI calculator on that site and it said I am 39% body fat.

    Wrong.
  • mfpcopine
    mfpcopine Posts: 3,093 Member
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    TrTry putting your measurements into the military body fat % calculator on fat2fitradio.com and try again in a month or two


    I just tested this site and it is rubbish.
    I got tested for my BMI a month ago on a military base and my BMI was 34.5% and I am smaller now and just did the BMI calculator on that site and it said I am 39% body fat.

    Wrong.

    Repeat: The BMI has NO relationship to body fat percentage. It is NEVER expressed as a percentage.

    However, most people who claim they are not fat per the BMI actually are.
  • mfpcopine
    mfpcopine Posts: 3,093 Member
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    We're all too hung up on numbers.

    Numbers are information, nothing more. People who continually ignore indicators that suggest they are gaining weight often end up obese.
  • shimmergal
    shimmergal Posts: 381 Member
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    That does not seem right at all. Also, I heard that couple of other factors does skew (increase) the body fat % displayed--
    - if you exercised in the past two hrs
    - if you are dehydrated
    - right after your period (you tend to expel more water than normal ...that you had accumulated due to bloating etc..)

    My 2 cents.
    Cheers!
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
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    That does not seem right at all. Also, I heard that couple of other factors does skew (increase) the body fat % displayed--
    - if you exercised in the past two hrs
    - if you are dehydrated
    - right after your period (you tend to expel more water than normal ...that you had accumulated due to bloating etc..)

    My 2 cents.
    Cheers!

    Correct - hydration levels can make for even more inaccuracies in the test.
  • angrodriguez92
    angrodriguez92 Posts: 193 Member
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    Your body looks great. dont get caught up in that. I wouldnt trust anything he said..
  • invictus8
    invictus8 Posts: 258 Member
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    Scales are unreliable for body fat percentage measures. The only semi-reliable at-home body fat percentage test is with calipers. You can get them on Amazon for about $10-20. You pinch fat with the calipers at several parts of your body and then use a formula (there are several) to calculate your approximate body fat percentage.

    But really these measurements are just meant to be tools for you to achieve your goals. You don't need calipers (or even a scale) to know you're feeling and looking better. The best measurement tool in my opinion is just a photograph once a week!

    Keep at it, and you'll achieve your fitness goals!
  • mfpcopine
    mfpcopine Posts: 3,093 Member
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    Scales are unreliable for body fat percentage measures. The only semi-reliable at-home body fat percentage test is with calipers. You can get them on Amazon for about $10-20. You pinch fat with the calipers at several parts of your body and then use a formula (there are several) to calculate your approximate body fat percentage.

    But really these measurements are just meant to be tools for you to achieve your goals. You don't need calipers (or even a scale) to know you're feeling and looking better. The best measurement tool in my opinion is just a photograph once a week!

    Keep at it, and you'll achieve your fitness goals!

    Knowledgeable people understand that body fat scales are not perfect. They do, however, provide a baseline. Calipers are difficult for many people to use accurately.

    If going only by how one looked and felt actually worked, many people would not be overweight to begin with. These tools help make us conscious of our real health status.
  • mfpcopine
    mfpcopine Posts: 3,093 Member
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    size 2/4 here and was told im bordering on overweight, just because i weigh 145. im muscular, cant help it, nor do i want to. bmi's are crap. its just an estimation. nobody can convince me im overweight. what did she want me to do, be a size 0 with no curves or fat.

    I don't know why you assume that because someone said you were close to being overweight it follows that she thinks you should be a size 0 and flat as a board. What is your body fat percentage? It's been said a million times on this site, but MOST people who are overweight per the BMI are not exceptionally muscular. They're overweight. Maybe you're not, but you don't seem to know your body composition.
  • MargaritaTeresaHernandez
    MargaritaTeresaHernandez Posts: 1 Member
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    Everything is rubbish & everyone has a differing opinion...haven't you noticed that? Lol...i am currently 238 pounds and guess what? I'm 43% body fat! And there is quite a big difference between our physiques! So don't worry about anything luv...you're ok as long as you feel you are! If you want to make improvements than by all means do it. But don't worry so much about #s or opinions.
  • Dragonwolf
    Dragonwolf Posts: 5,600 Member
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    Everything is rubbish & everyone has a differing opinion...haven't you noticed that? Lol...i am currently 238 pounds and guess what? I'm 43% body fat! And there is quite a big difference between our physiques! So don't worry about anything luv...you're ok as long as you feel you are! If you want to make improvements than by all means do it. But don't worry so much about #s or opinions.

    You're new to the forums, so I'll try to be nice about this -- don't necromance threads. This thread died 2 years ago. For the general forums, the limit is generally just a couple of weeks (no more than a month, but even longer than about 2 weeks is questionable and you should really consider the response you're making). The groups are more forgiving, since they're not usually as active. A good rule of thumb could be that the more active a forum is, the shorter the expiration time for threads.

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