Body fat measurement

recriger
recriger Posts: 245 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Morning!

I was at the gym last night and asked the head trainer about using their body fat device. This is the one they have.

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I'm looking for opinions.

I'm not looking for perfection, just a fairly reliable device. Does anyone use one of these? are they at all reliable? Or should I just get a generic caliper and do it that way? I just don't want to trust what my digital scale tells me.

Replies

  • thisismeraw
    thisismeraw Posts: 1,264 Member
    I would suggest getting some calipers if you want an inexpensive way to get your body fat. Those devices and the scales are not accurate at all. I'm sure you could use it as a guide however a lot of different things can change the reading.
  • jadelovesveg
    jadelovesveg Posts: 25
    I was just looking at these on Amazon!
    That's the Omron BF306, no?
    All the Omron body composition monitors are on sale on Amazon right now (on the UK site at least), there are 3 in the range. The top one (the BF511) is on sale for £50 - normally £120!!
    http://www.amazon.co.uk/Omron-BF511-Family-Composition-Monitor/dp/B0033AGBW0/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top
    (there is a nice comparison table of the 3 models in the link)

    Does anyone have one of these? Do you like it? Is it accurate? Is it complicated to use?

    I really like the look of the fitbit/withings/runtastic body composition scales but they are so much more expensive! I don't really want to pay double the price just for a bluetooth connection!

    The reviews are mostly good, so I may bite the bullet and go for the expensive one while it's on sale...
  • rjs0416
    rjs0416 Posts: 23
    I like the Aria scale from Fitbit. It might not be the most accurate device, but it is damn near consistent so long as you maintain near-steady sodium levels, amount of water you're drinking, and measure yourself the same time every day (I weigh myself daily in the morning, after I pee).

    The data points are good for me. I don't place stock in the day to day measurements, but once I print out the graphs, I can easily crunch the numbers and draw a trending line over the course of one month.

    When it comes to weighing and measuring devices, who cares if it is 100% accurate... so long as it is consistent.
  • jwdieter
    jwdieter Posts: 2,582 Member
    When it comes to weighing and measuring devices, who cares if it is 100% accurate... so long as it is consistent.

    Well, you want something to be in the ball park. From what I've seen, these devices are like broken clocks. Maybe if your body type and sodium and water levels work out right, the answer will be accurate. Or maybe it will be off by 10% or more.
  • DanaDark
    DanaDark Posts: 2,187 Member
    Just be sure to check your BF% with these devices with the same conditions. So, empty your urinary bladder, don't drink anything an hour beforehand, etc. Be sure to read the directions too.

    They are very useful to use to make a comparison on reducing your body fat, but not highly reliable in determining the current body fat percentage. If that makes sense.
  • Red_Sparrow
    Red_Sparrow Posts: 56
    I have that model. It is not hugely precise - you do have to be sure you're holding and gripping it EXACTLY the same way each time, and even then it's going to fluctuate based on how dehydrated you are. It's good for keeping track of trends with a daily measurement (you can add a measurement to track here on mfp and keep an eye on the graph and your averages), but it may be off by as much as a percent from day to day so it's not good to get if you are only using it once a month or something.

    It was worth the $30 or whatever I paid for it but you can't be religious about the exact numbers.
  • _noob_
    _noob_ Posts: 3,306 Member
    Just be sure to check your BF% with these devices with the same conditions. So, empty your urinary bladder, don't drink anything an hour beforehand, etc. Be sure to read the directions too.

    They are very useful to use to make a comparison on reducing your body fat, but not highly reliable in determining the current body fat percentage. If that makes sense.

    this

    I use mine for relative comparisons.
  • rjs0416
    rjs0416 Posts: 23
    Well, you want something to be in the ball park. From what I've seen, these devices are like broken clocks. Maybe if your body type and sodium and water levels work out right, the answer will be accurate. Or maybe it will be off by 10% or more.

    Partially agree. My thoughts are that the scale I'm using is off by about 5% based on a caliper measurement I had my PT do. It is, however, consistently off by about 5%, so it allows me to capture the general trend. I take morning measurements every day. They fluctuate a bit, but the overall trend line is what I'm looking for, not the ups and downs. It's all about the general motion: lean mass up and body fat percentage down :-)

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