Loose skin, does this affect body fat calipers accuracy???

montanadanni
montanadanni Posts: 184 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi everyone!

If someone has slightly loose skin( I don't mean fat, I mean skin and only skin) from big weight loss, will this affect when using body fat calipers?

For example if the tummy, upper arms, inner thighs have this saggy skin left how is a body fat caliper going to read that accuratly?

For me personally I have very little loose skin only in lower tummy and I hope to tighten it up more but my doctor said that some might never go away, no matter how lean and toned I get. So if I am very lean but still have skin, will the calipers read me as higher body fat since it can latch on to my loose skin?

What are your thoughts?

Replies

  • michellelemorgan
    michellelemorgan Posts: 184 Member
    What a fantastic question! I hope to see answers to this one!
  • victoriannsays
    victoriannsays Posts: 568 Member
    it seems like it would affect the results, but I have no real experience with this and can't tell you for sure.
  • MyChocolateDiet
    MyChocolateDiet Posts: 22,281 Member
    I think that's how they're supposed to work. I thought they were designed for just this?
  • montanadanni
    montanadanni Posts: 184 Member
    I think that's how they're supposed to work. I thought they were designed for just this?

    No, they are designed to measure ones body fat % not how thick excess skin is.
  • montanadanni
    montanadanni Posts: 184 Member
    it seems like it would affect the results, but I have no real experience with this and can't tell you for sure.

    I would think it would too. I wonder if there is a more accurate way to read body fat % for someone with loose skin?
  • drchimpanzee
    drchimpanzee Posts: 892 Member
    This article rates the various methods. Bod Pod, Dexa, and the water tank thing seem to be tops:

    http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=56830
  • Muddy_Yogi
    Muddy_Yogi Posts: 1,459 Member
    I don't really think skin is "thick" I would assume that if it feels thick then there may be some fat there as well. I am no expert of course just my opinion. Which may be wrong.
  • Maximumresults
    Maximumresults Posts: 175
    Is the number that important if you are getting results?
  • __RANDY__
    __RANDY__ Posts: 1,036 Member
    no, the calipers will get a good reading regardless.
  • anifani4
    anifani4 Posts: 457 Member
    I thought that to get an accurate reading using calipers it is important to take readings on various body locations and average them. So an area with loose skin probably would not affect the overall reading that much.
  • Liftnlove
    Liftnlove Posts: 235
    I think it could affect your reading, depending on how much skin we're talking about here...but regardless, it would give you a baseline number. If the readings continually go down, and you're seeing results in the mirror, that's more important that the actual number in my opinion. :)

    I mean, calipers just pinch...they don't tell you "oh, well this pinch is 20% skin and 80% fat" or vise versa...I don't think they are designed for people with tons of extra skin. Now just a small amount of excess skin probably won't affect it much...there's about a 3% margin of error anyway, even when it's done by someone experienced with caliper testing.
  • auzziecawth66
    auzziecawth66 Posts: 476 Member
    I've been kinda curious about this too. It seems to me that when they use calipers that they pinch up and measure what's under the skin not the skin itself so much. But like the other poster said even if its not 100% right on it gives you a general base to go by so you can tell if you are at least reducing body fat...
  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
    Yes, it does.
  • __RANDY__
    __RANDY__ Posts: 1,036 Member
    Yes, it does.

    No skin is skin, weather it is lose or not. Unless you wad up several layers of skin in the caliper, it will have no effect on the test.
  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
    Yes, it does.

    No skin is skin, weather it is lose or not. Unless you wad up several layers of skin in the caliper, it will have no effect on the test.

    The fat is under the skin, how do they measure the fat without measuring the skin that takes up the space where the fat (or baby in women that have had children) once was (keep in mind the actual thickness of the many layers of skin on either side, fully surrounding the fat)? I'm not arguing. I am asking for info. Because clearly I need an accurate explanation of this, to be able to understand what you are claiming.

    It is confusing for some people. Sometimes people that have a bmi of 16 post photos on here, pulling at their loose skin (from rapid weight loss) and think it is fat.
  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
    I suppose what people are saying is that you still put the skin in the calipers (as you have to because it is over the fat), but the thickness of the measurement would be from the fat under the skin.
  • __RANDY__
    __RANDY__ Posts: 1,036 Member

    The fat is under the skin, how do they measure the fat without measuring the skin that takes up the space where the fat (or baby in women that have had children) once was (keep in mind the actual thickness of the many layers of skin on either side, fully surrounding the fat)? I'm not arguing. I am asking for info. Because clearly I need an accurate explanation of this, to be able to understand what you are claiming.

    It is confusing for some people. Sometimes people that have a bmi of 16 post photos on here, pulling at their loose skin (from rapid weight loss) and think it is fat.
    I suppose what people are saying is that you still put the skin in the calipers (as you have to because it is over the fat), but the thickness of the measurement would be from the fat under the skin.

    tumblr_mdta80tK9r1rol1w1.gif
  • horseplaypen
    horseplaypen Posts: 442 Member
    Yes, it does.

    No skin is skin, weather it is lose or not. Unless you wad up several layers of skin in the caliper, it will have no effect on the test.

    This makes sense to me. I imagine that if your skin is loose, you'll just have a longer flap of skin to pinch - but the WIDTH of the pinched skin would be the same as if your skin were taut. Like... if the upholstery on your couch is loose and you pinch up a flap of it - the two pieces of fabric are the same width as if the upholstery were tight, but it's easier to pull more fabric up.

    This is just my (possibly incorrect) deduction though. :)
  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
    Yes, it does.

    No skin is skin, weather it is lose or not. Unless you wad up several layers of skin in the caliper, it will have no effect on the test.

    This makes sense to me. I imagine that if your skin is loose, you'll just have a longer flap of skin to pinch - but the WIDTH of the pinched skin would be the same as if your skin were taut. Like... if the upholstery on your couch is loose and you pinch up a flap of it - the two pieces of fabric are the same width as if the upholstery were tight, but it's easier to pull more fabric up.

    This is just my (possibly incorrect) deduction though. :)

    Yeah, that is what I think also (based on the responses here). I don't use calipers. My husband is a physicist and can do hydrostatic weighing for me. I just thought it seemed logical that loose skin would be one of the factors that results in false readings. But, this seems to be the reason it doesn't.

    Prior to this, I was thinking of it this way:
    I think it could affect your reading, depending on how much skin we're talking about here...but regardless, it would give you a baseline number. If the readings continually go down, and you're seeing results in the mirror, that's more important that the actual number in my opinion. :)

    I mean, calipers just pinch...they don't tell you "oh, well this pinch is 20% skin and 80% fat" or vise versa...I don't think they are designed for people with tons of extra skin. Now just a small amount of excess skin probably won't affect it much...there's about a 3% margin of error anyway, even when it's done by someone experienced with caliper testing.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,988 Member
    While the thickness of the skin is figured into the calculation of body fat measurement for calipers, what is being pinched to measure is the thickness of mass between a pinched area. If you pinched and were only holding just loose skin between and did the measurement, it would be inaccurate.
    You can pinch skin on the back of your hand and if that was used as a measurement (like pinching loose skin around your arms for example) then the measurement would be wrong.

    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
  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
    While the thickness of the skin is figured into the calculation of body fat measurement for calipers, what is being pinched to measure is the thickness of mass between a pinched area. If you pinched and were only holding just loose skin between and did the measurement, it would be inaccurate.
    You can pinch skin on the back of your hand and if that was used as a measurement (like pinching loose skin around your arms for example) then the measurement would be wrong.

    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

    Thanks!

    Do the calipers come with calculations that factor out the thickness of the skin on the various parts of the body? I'm going to look into it more and maybe try the calipers. They did not seem like a very accurate method to me, although they are better than the scales (which are a scam).
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,988 Member
    While the thickness of the skin is figured into the calculation of body fat measurement for calipers, what is being pinched to measure is the thickness of mass between a pinched area. If you pinched and were only holding just loose skin between and did the measurement, it would be inaccurate.
    You can pinch skin on the back of your hand and if that was used as a measurement (like pinching loose skin around your arms for example) then the measurement would be wrong.

    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

    Thanks!

    Do the calipers come with calculations that factor out the thickness of the skin on the various parts of the body? I'm going to look into it more and maybe try the calipers. They did not seem like a very accurate method to me, although they are better than the scales (which are a scam).
    Normally the measurement is in millimeters then you use that measurement against a chart and use some mathematics (sum of measurements). Here are a couple:

    http://www.langeservicecenter.com/Lange Manual.pdf

    http://www.muscleandstrength.com/tools/how-to-measure-bodyfat-using-calipers.html

    Always measure each area twice to ensure correct reading.

    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
  • spfldpam
    spfldpam Posts: 738 Member
    What about if a DXA scan was done? I had a DXA scan done 4/26/13 and was wondering if my loose skin is shown as body fat or tissue? My DXA scan said I was 24% body fat which the college professor who did the test said was very good for my age. I looked at some online charts for % of body fat and 24% is condsidered in the "fitness Level" for women.
    I didn't think to ask the professor what the loose skin would count as? Any ideas?
  • lana1748
    lana1748 Posts: 1 Member
    This is an interesting page mostly cause it seems to agree with my theory :p Both my Boy friend and I have lost a great amount of weight (He 150 and I a total of 82 lbs). We are very different when it comes to where our skin sags and how much it sags but I do know no matter what test we do, I am not 17% fat nor is he 9% At this point of weight lost with me at 23% fat and he at 15% fat I assumed that to get the tightness some what back, we would have to tone down to get under all the tucked away fatty skin parts and this artical says it all. I do think we may have a bit of skin left on a couple of areas but it most likely will be thinner, paper like and not that fatty consistency that you can really pinch on to. http://www.muscleforlife.com/how-to-get-rid-of-loose-skin-after-weight-loss/
  • p20xn
    p20xn Posts: 1 Member
    This is an old post but here are my thoughts. Fat is under the skin, so if for the abdomen pinch there is 1 pound of fat under 50 square inches of skin for a normal person, for a person with loose skin the same pound of fat is distributed under 100 square inches of skin (in a extreme example where one would have double the surface of skin) and the fold will be thinner. So in a person with loose sin, by this train of thought, the caliper method will underestimate bodyfat %.
  • katemcd495
    katemcd495 Posts: 36 Member
    Well, having this thread pop up is super helpful. I ordered a caliper and it will be arriving today!
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,988 Member
    p20xn wrote: »
    This is an old post but here are my thoughts. Fat is under the skin, so if for the abdomen pinch there is 1 pound of fat under 50 square inches of skin for a normal person, for a person with loose skin the same pound of fat is distributed under 100 square inches of skin (in a extreme example where one would have double the surface of skin) and the fold will be thinner. So in a person with loose sin, by this train of thought, the caliper method will underestimate bodyfat %.
    But it's usually not dispersed that way. Fat cells lie under the skin and systematically fill by where one's body hold most/least. Everyone hold fat differently with the possible exception of identical twins. Skin that hangs from previous weight loss usually doesn't have a lot of fat under it unless a major weight regain happened.


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