body fat %??

DizzieLittleLifter

I've been reading a lot of websites, trying to figure out the most accurate way of determining BF%. Some sites say to use a caliber and of course the MOST accurate way is the water displacement test. I've gone to some websites and entered in my info and the formulas came up with 9-15%. :huh: hmmmm. Where can you get these more accurate tests done? and how accurate do you think the other "formulas" are at determining BF?

gurgi22

There is no way to get body fat percentages from a formula. You may finding a doctor or a gym that has body fat analyzers and some colleges will have students test with water displacement if they are earning a degree in kinesology or sports medicine.

LittleSpy

Hydrostatic testing is, I think, generally considered the "gold standard." There are actually some mobile hydrostatic testing labs so you may want to search for one in your area. A guy at one of the gyms in my city has one. He charges $50 for initial testing & $40 for all follow ups.

Using a formula, however, will in no way be accurate.

DizzieLittleLifter

So when most people say they are XX%BF are they guessing or is this something common for people to get tested?

LittleSpy

So when most people say they are XX%BF are they guessing or is this something common for people to get tested?

Well, that's kind of impossible to say without asking each individual person.

There's also the bio impedence version. A lot of folks use a scale that has that. I have one that has hand and foot sensors which is supposed to be more reliable. It's still very inaccurate. :ohwell: Maybe it's just my bf and I, but on any given day, it'll tell us we have about 8-12% more body fat than we actually do. Mine's just an estimate, but my bf has had has body fat tested fairly recently. He's at 19%. The scale we have says 31%!

MattySparky

Any good sport clinic will have a place to get tested. You could ask your family doctor to refer you to someone who does it. Our chiropractor offers this service too. The formulas are bull, dont buy into that ****.

lvfunandfit

You can get your BF tested at the gym or some health food stores have nutritionists on hand that test it.

gurgi22

I can't speak for everyone, but I have 2 body fat analyzers because I am an athletic trainer (see discription on my signature and profile) and use them with my athletes. I also use them in my health class. Some scales have body fat analyzers built into them but they are not the most accurate thing out there.

Azdak

Some of the most common methods:

1. Skinfold calipers: certainly the least expensive. For people who are athletic to moderately overfat, and with someone who is really good at taking measurements (like me), Skinfold measurements can the the best combination of price and accuracy. Unfortunately, not that many people are really skilled at doing them. They also are not very good for people who are greatly overfat, who have a lot of visceral fat, or "apple shaped" women.

2. Bioimpedance: Very easy to do, not that expensive either. (I am referred to the higher-level clinical Tanita scales, not a home version). Good for the people listed above who are not good candidates for skinfold caliper measurements. Shortcoming: relies on detecting the difference in water content between fat and non fat tissues, therefore is affected by hydration status. I now work with a high-end Tanita scale and while it works better than I expected, it is frustrating because the variances make it really difficult to track lean body mass over time. However, for most of the people we use it on (40+% body fat), it is the only realistic option.

3. Hydrostatic Weighing: in research, this is often referred to as the "gold standard", but the methodology is not easy. My experience has been that, between differences in operator experience and the methodological challenges, a lot of the accuracy of water weighing is often lost, making it no better than less-expensive and less intrusive methods.

4. Bod Pod--uses air displacement (I think) to determine density (which is used to calculate BF% in ALL methods). Supposedly almost as accurate as Hydro weighing, but more consistent and (much) easier to perform. Biggest problems are cost and availability. They aren't cheap so not many places have them and those that do often have to charge a lot to recoup their capital investment. If you had the option to do hydro weighing or the bod pod, I'd probably opt for latter.

5. Near infrared: This was a method marketed as the Futrex system. A sensor/probe/whatever was pressed against the upper arm and an the beam was used to estimate. In every research study I have read comparing methodologies, this always came out the worst in terms of accuracy, by far, even behind "standing in front of the mirror naked and jumping up and down".

6. Last year I saw a new ultrasound method being demonstrated at a club expo in Chicago. It looked interesting, but I have not had time to seriously research it.

I am not mentioning Dexxa scanning but that is beyond the reach of most people.

There are no reliable online calculators. There have been numerous attempts to come up with easier methods--involving circumference measurements, for example--but, to my knowledge, none have ever been show to be valid enough to become part of accepted practice.