Body Fat Percentage

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  • AZackery
    AZackery Posts: 2,035 Member
    I have 2 stand on monitors and a hand held. The 2 stand ons are 5% difference! So do I have more fat than I thought? 5% is quite a change :-(.

    I have been using the one scale for 5 months and was disappointed when I hopped on the older scales to find out it increased by 5% so I haven't lost as much as I thought :-(

    Are your 2 scales set to the same settings? Are both of them giving you the same weight? Which one of the scales is your handheld monitor's reading close to?
  • Tigermad
    Tigermad Posts: 305 Member
    I have 2 stand on monitors and a hand held. The 2 stand ons are 5% difference! So do I have more fat than I thought? 5% is quite a change :-(.

    I have been using the one scale for 5 months and was disappointed when I hopped on the older scales to find out it increased by 5% so I haven't lost as much as I thought :-(

    Are your 2 scales set to the same settings? Are both of them giving you the same weight? Which one of the scales is your handheld monitor's reading close to?

    Yep. Both floor ones are set up the same and weight is similar. The hand held is closer to the old one unfortunately. Which means I am 35 percent body fat and not the 30 I thought I was :-(
  • AZackery
    AZackery Posts: 2,035 Member
    I have 2 stand on monitors and a hand held. The 2 stand ons are 5% difference! So do I have more fat than I thought? 5% is quite a change :-(.

    I have been using the one scale for 5 months and was disappointed when I hopped on the older scales to find out it increased by 5% so I haven't lost as much as I thought :-(

    Are your 2 scales set to the same settings? Are both of them giving you the same weight? Which one of the scales is your handheld monitor's reading close to?

    Yep. Both floor ones are set up the same and weight is similar. The hand held is closer to the old one unfortunately. Which means I am 35 percent body fat and not the 30 I thought I was :-(

    I don't see why the scales are giving you a 5% different reading, if it's giving you the same weight. Do you use all three devices on weigh in days? Change the battery to see if it makes a difference. If it doesn't, then put that scale up and just go by the other scale and your handheld monitor.
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
    Because bio impedance is inaccurate. It has a close to 10% margin of error. That's why those scales are useless.
  • Sokvichet
    Sokvichet Posts: 1
    At work, we have an Inbody 520 machine. It is not perfect, but is accurate enough to give consistent readings and allows us to make diet/training tweaks to ensure the least amount of muscle loss while cutting. The only problem is the machine costs $7-8,000... If you can find one of these, use it!

    Also, the college I went to used to do hydrostatic weighing for a nominal fee. I'm not sure how common this is, but it is another example of the most accurate readings you can get.
  • CylMcK
    CylMcK Posts: 5 Member
    Thank you for the information.

    I have had success with the Omron handheld. It was consistently within 1% of a hydrostatic (under water) reading. I have been getting the underwater reading at least once every 3 years or so. When I was training for Ironman, I had it done when I started training and then again just before my race. It was a great feeling. The calipers, underwater weighing and Omron handheld were all within 2-3%.

    However - I have gained some weight since my race and I bought a new BF scale - the Aria which works with my fitbit. I have to compare it to to my handheld, but it does not have an athlete setting. I have been using the athlete setting on my handheld, which aligns well with the water weighing.

    Its all relative and just another fun tool for us information geeks.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    I'm sharing what I have posted on two threads yesterday in regards to Body Fat percentage.

    I own both a body fat scale and Omron handheld monitor and I trust both of them. Some people are against a body fat scale and Omron Handheld Monitor, they feel that these devices aren't accurate, which all devices aren't 100% accurate, the only thing that's said to be 100% accurate is an autopsy and no one will find out their true body fat percentage then.

    Why would an autopsy give a 100% accurate measurement of body fat?
  • kbauman09
    kbauman09 Posts: 40 Member
    Do you have a Bod Pod anywhere near you? I live in Knoxville and just went in one a couple of weeks ago. My body fat % was much different than the body fat scale measurement that my dietician took for me. You should check out the Bod Pod---quick and easy! Mine ended up being 19.6 which was lower than I thought it would be.
  • astronomicals
    astronomicals Posts: 1,537 Member
    Waste of time and money..... all you need is to know you're not losing strength while dieting (not much anyhow).... know your losing weight.. and watch the mirror.... If you look in the mirror and you think you need to lose more weight, and then a scan tells you you're the percentage you wanted to be, what are you going to do?

    my calipers tell me 8% on a 7 point test.... i know thats BS and I know how to use em... I even tried to get the most fat I could and the highest reading i could make it was 10% which is still too low.... cheap calipers=cheap results...
  • mich1902
    mich1902 Posts: 182
    I bought some calipers off of ebay for a couple of quid and you get the chart with it. My guestimation of myself was right though and i'm an average 30% at 142 pounds 5ft 4. Who wants to be average? ha. So Looks like its operation lose a stone and 10% body fat for me!
  • ptjolsen
    ptjolsen Posts: 365 Member
    I use a Bio Impedance, handheld monitor...I try use it once a month, in the am when I'm as empty as I'll be all day.
  • waldo56
    waldo56 Posts: 1,861 Member
    If you can get it/afford it, the immersion test for body fat % is the most accurate method out there. The next best is callipers, followed by the hand-held gizmos, then finally the scale that measures through the feet. My scale bf% goes up when I go down in weight. Figure that one out!

    Tape measure?

    The formulas for figuring BF% from a tape measure aren't particularly accurate in an ultimate sense, however changes in a relative sense are extremely accurate. While the formula telling you you are at 15% might be a bit off, if you lost 2.5 %, chances are that is quite accurate and on par with the best of the best other methods.
  • StaticEntropy
    StaticEntropy Posts: 224 Member
    The Navy method is pretty accurate, and you just need a tape measure... here is a website to show you what you need
    http://www.healthstatus.com/calculate/body-fat-percentage-calculator

    I use the Navy method as well. I compared it to caliper measurements and the results were very similar. I also have a bio impedance scale that is mostly useless, giving me a bf of 17% on a good day.
  • Angie1366
    Angie1366 Posts: 85
    If the reading goes down and you measure consistently, then isn't that ok?

    Unless there is a health issue and you really need the result for health reasons.

    There are 2 main body fats, one is good old fashioned fat under your skin that we can all see easily when we look at our muffin tops bulging over our jeans.....

    Another is known as VISCERAL fat. This is where fat cannot be seen, it wraps itself around your organs, and can cause serious health problems. If you diet and exercise you should reduce this visceral fat... It is usually visceral if you think you are thin but have % which seems high... YOURS is not high.

    TOFI Thin Outside Fat Inside.

    I am on intermittent fasting diet and that does seem to reduce visceral and normal fat as well as targetting very many health issues.

    Look up 5:2 intermittent fasting - if you are intrigued!
  • waldo56
    waldo56 Posts: 1,861 Member
    The Navy method is pretty accurate, and you just need a tape measure... here is a website to show you what you need
    http://www.healthstatus.com/calculate/body-fat-percentage-calculator

    I use the Navy method as well. I compared it to caliper measurements and the results were very similar. I also have a bio impedance scale that is mostly useless, giving me a bf of 17% on a good day.

    The Navy formula tends to be low for me.

    The modified YMCA formula seems to give a more accurate result for me. The regular YMCA formula seems to be a middle ground of the two.

    (I'd love to be at the 11% the Navy formula says I'm at, but chances are the 13% I get from the mYMCA formula is closer to reality).

    Either way, the difference is pretty much just a matter of zero point, both change at almost exactly the same rate.
  • JoanB5
    JoanB5 Posts: 610 Member
    Waste of time and money..... all you need is to know you're not losing strength while dieting (not much anyhow).... know your losing weight.. and watch the mirror.... If you look in the mirror and you think you need to lose more weight, and then a scan tells you you're the percentage you wanted to be, what are you going to do?

    I've sort of been thing the same thing about numbers lately. As long as there is fat showing or hanging, or something jiggles, I'm not quite there. I can see where athletes need this information for speed or things like that, though. I am recording how I obtained my BF% and will use the same online tool the next time I check it, just as one measure of progress. My clothes are probably the best indicator at the moment, though. : )

    When I compare my body to other's online with similar builds, the fat2fit calculator seems to be more in line than the NAVY calculator, if anyone wants to try it out. http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bf/ I like all their tools. You can enter your goal BF, current weight and height, and they will calculate what your body weight will likely need to be to get to your goal BF. Seems to me that lean muscle mass may affect this some, but I imagine it's close.
  • bluelena
    bluelena Posts: 304 Member

    Tape measure?

    The formulas for figuring BF% from a tape measure aren't particularly accurate in an ultimate sense, however changes in a relative sense are extremely accurate. While the formula telling you you are at 15% might be a bit off, if you lost 2.5 %, chances are that is quite accurate and on par with the best of the best other methods.

    I'm currently using the fat2fitradio.com body fat calculator (the Military one), but I think I'm going to plug my numbers into the Navy one this afternoon when I get home. I like that it asks for so many different measurements. Maybe I'll start using that one.

    I don't really care what the actual number is right now. As long as the number goes DOWN, I'm a happy camper.

    If you find it hard to get the measuring tape straight (especially with hip and waist measurements), invest in a Myotape. They're not expensive, and SO easy to use.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    If you can get it/afford it, the immersion test for body fat % is the most accurate method out there. The next best is callipers, followed by the hand-held gizmos, then finally the scale that measures through the feet. My scale bf% goes up when I go down in weight. Figure that one out!

    The statistics I've seen rate DEXA as the most accurate

    Your BF% could go up as you lose weight if you also lose muscle. It could be poor measurement, but if it's actually increasing you should probably tweak your diet and exercise plan.
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