Body Fat Measuring Scales

Troy_Boy1969
Troy_Boy1969 Posts: 27
in Fitness and Exercise
I have a Tanita scale that does weight and body fat. How accurate is the body fat function?

Replies

  • djeffreys10
    djeffreys10 Posts: 2,312 Member
    Not accurate at all. It simply measures the electrical impedance between two points on your body, and runs that through an equation taking into account your height, age, and weight. No impedance method of determing body fat is very accurate. Mine says I am around 18% bf. The omron handheld at my gym (also an impedance method) said today that I am 7.8%. I am actually in the 11% range.
  • lafferty4
    lafferty4 Posts: 10
    I had this discussion with my father who is a physical trainer. He said to me, to test the accuracy of your scale first do it as you normally would with your bare feet dry. Then, get your feet wet and do it again. These scales work by sending a small electrical pulse through the body (no this will not electricute you). He said that you will then see how accurate your scale is as a wet reading is usually far more accurate than a dry one and you can see if there was any difference in the two readings and judge for yourself. Personally I use the Weight Watchers one that does weight, weight in fat, percentage body fat, percentage body water, percentage bone and body mass index. This is after you input your age and height into a pre-stored setting. It sounds more complicated than it really is and I like the look and liked the price of this particular scale at my local Bed Bath and Beyond. Hope this helps.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Not very accurate...in my experience, can't tell the difference between BF and water. You're better off taking measurements and/or using calipers. I actually find it beneficial to have someone else take my measurements and do the caliper for me...I have a tendency to really make that tape tight and clamp down on the calipers when I do it myself to get as low as I can get...totally cheating myself so I like to let my wife do it...she's not going to BS me.
  • Troy_Boy1969
    Troy_Boy1969 Posts: 27
    Mine does all the whiz-bang stuff too. Perhaps I'm in denial at 40% body fat. Just doesn't seem like that is accurate. I think I'm going to use BMI as my "gauge" for progress.

    Thanks for the replies!

    Happy training.

    Troy
  • SerenaFisher
    SerenaFisher Posts: 2,170 Member
    So which measurement is best? I can have anywhere from 14% to 30% through my measurements or at least close to that much of a gap. I have been using the "Accurate Body Fat Calculator" APP and also the Military method of tape which are some what close but other's are totally different. Thoughts?
  • EDollah
    EDollah Posts: 464 Member
    If you have a Bod Pod in your area, I advise that to get an initial reading of body fat percent. Additionally you get an RMR reading too. This device is considered extremely accurate, maybe more so than dunking. It wasn't cheap for me ($60) and not something I would do regularly but worth it for an initial reading and maybe a subsequent reading when you expect you're at your end goal.

    I also purchased a handheld device that sends electrical pulses. These are considered not accurate but consistent. Meaning that if it shows a bfp of 30%, your bfp is probably not 30% but when you see it again at 27%, you can be confident you lost 3% bfp. I hope that makes sense.

    So that device in conjunction with the Bod Pod reading I think gave me a good assessment of bodyfat at a point in time and a means of measuring progress.
  • SerenaFisher
    SerenaFisher Posts: 2,170 Member
    Makes complete sense but I need something that doesn't require money lol so perhaps the best tape formula to use? And what are these calipers for skin folds? Where do I get those since if I am going to buy anything it will likely be that

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