Confusion about body fat

Carrie6o6

I'm confused. According to this website http://www.healthcentral.com/cholesterol/home-body-fat-test-2774-143.html it says:

You have 24.1% body fat.
You have 50.9 Pounds of fat and 160.1 Pounds of lean (muscle, bone, body water).

So this means 24.1% of me is fat? My sisters scale that measures body fat by sending an impulse through your feet says i'm 40% fat... so which one is right?

And if the website is right.. That means my goal weight should be 160lbs without fat??

Carrie6o6

I'm confused. According to this website http://www.healthcentral.com/cholesterol/home-body-fat-test-2774-143.html it says:

You have 24.1% body fat.
You have 50.9 Pounds of fat and 160.1 Pounds of lean (muscle, bone, body water).

So this means 24.1% of me is fat? My sisters scale that measures body fat by sending an impulse through your feet says i'm 40% fat... so which one is right?

And if the website is right.. That means my goal weight should be 160lbs without fat??

Carrie6o6

No one knows the answer to this?:frown:

banks1850

probably somewhere in between, careful with those scales they have a very large margin for error (it can be up to 15% off). They use bioelectrical impedence, and that method, if done with numerous electrodes throughout the body, can be highly accurate, but the fact that your doing it with just your feet makes it much less so for 2 reasons, 1) it only measures the legs and if your disproportionate then it won't be very accurate and 2) if your over hydrated at all or under hydrated it can be pretty far off (it uses the % of water in fat and muscle to make the calculation).

Also, I can't see how any website can give you numbers accurately unless maybe if you put in caliper numbers. If you notice, there is a 10% margin for error on that site. I imagine that it's probably a little higher then that too. The numbers they use are from 2 areas of the body. What about me? I have a large stomach (or had, not so much any more), but they don't measure that at all... what if your weight is all in your thighs? What if your really muscular but have thin wrists? Lots of question marks here.

There is only 1 way to get a REEEEEally accurate fat % done, that is by Hydrodensitometry Weighing.
they basically dunk you in a tank and measure the displacement and do some calculations. Very expensive.

another way is by caliper, but the person measuring needs to be highly trained, and there is still a relatively large margin for error. Caliper measuring assumes the fat near your skin is the same density as the fat deeper, which isn't always true.

there is another one out that is suppose to be some x-ray type device, but I have never even seen one of these. It's suppose to be super accurate though.

nicole0177

It depends how much you weigh i weight 135 and i have 26.4% body fat it all depends on your height and weight.

songbyrdsweet

Banks, the x-ray device is a DEXA scan, which is actually used to measure bone density. Some facilities will let you in for a fee (about $100 from what I've heard) and you get pretty much exact numbers. You'll see your fat mass, lean mass, bone density, and where the fat is located (sub-Q vs. visceral).

Carrie, there isn't really a measurable margin of error for online tests since they all differ and depending on your body comp they can be totally off. Bioimpedance (the scale you stepped on) has a margin of error of -+ 8%, so you're probably somewhere between 32-48% bodyfat.

banks1850

Banks, the x-ray device is a DEXA scan, which is actually used to measure bone density. Some facilities will let you in for a fee (about $100 from what I've heard) and you get pretty much exact numbers. You'll see your fat mass, lean mass, bone density, and where the fat is located (sub-Q vs. visceral).

Carrie, there isn't really a measurable margin of error for online tests since they all differ and depending on your body comp they can be totally off. Bioimpedance (the scale you stepped on) has a margin of error of -+ 8%, so you're probably somewhere between 32-48% bodyfat.

There ya go, DEXA. I knew that.

I want one of those. (at least I think I do.)

ariannedavis

See if your sister would let you borrow her scale for a week or two. Mine is within 2% of my actual caliper reading done by our sports medicine staff.

Check to see if her's gives you a hydration reading as well. The more hydrated you are, the lower the body fat reading; water speeds the electrical impulse thorough the body faster. I am consistently within 1.5% of my hydration, so for me the reliabiltiy & validity are very high. Another thing to check is if you can select "adult" or "athlete" on her scale. There is about a 6% difference for me when switching the setting.

:drinker:

Carrie6o6

See if your sister would let you borrow her scale for a week or two. Mine is within 2% of my actual caliper reading done by our sports medicine staff.

Check to see if her's gives you a hydration reading as well. The more hydrated you are, the lower the body fat reading; water speeds the electrical impulse thorough the body faster. I am consistently within 1.5% of my hydration, so for me the reliabiltiy & validity are very high. Another thing to check is if you can select "adult" or "athlete" on her scale. There is about a 6% difference for me when switching the setting.

:drinker:

My sisters is just reads your % of fat. Nothing more. It seems there's really no easy way to tell without having to pay a lot. Calipers look scary!! hahaha Is it really that big of a deal to know how much fat I have?

lotusfromthemud

Getting my body fat tested helped me when I was at the end of the goal, to better determine my goal. (which is no longer a weight, but a size).

If you have access to a trained person to measure your body fat, I think it's a great tool. For me, that online calculator was accurate to within 2%, but that's just me. My scale, which also "measures" body fat, puts me at over 30%. (according to my trainer and doctor, it's lying)

I'm all about just watching your measurements go down. I wish I'd done it that way from the beginning, just measuring myself every two weeks.

I hate the scale. I'm beginning to want to start a scale revolution, as they are becoming our digital overlords! RESIST! (OK< I'll try to calm down now)

:flowerforyou:

Carrie6o6

hahahahahaha yeah the scale is frustrating at times. I weigh myself everyday and you should see my report chart, its up and down and up and down... but at least it is steadily going down hahahaha My husband told me to weigh once a month! Ha! yeah right, though it's smart I could never do that. I've lived on the scale since I was about 13. But I do measure once a month, and so far have lost one inch off my stomach and thighs