Can MFP help with body fat percentage and measurements?

j3nesis87
j3nesis87 Posts: 18 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
In short, I'm less worried about my weight than my shape - my waist has grown by a good 6 inches diameter over the last year or so and I haven't consciously made any changes to my lifestyle! However my overall weight is still within the healthy range so less worried about that.

I have just signed up for MFP again (I used it a while back) and I love how easy it makes it to calculate the calories, but although 'fitness' is a very inclusive term it doesn't have a section to record e.g. waist measurement and as far as I can see it doesn't have a BMI calculator or anything like that. I appreciate its purpose is as a calorie calculator and exercise meter (and that it's free!), would it be a big job to add, say, measurement recording functions? Just a simple record/graph would do.

Replies

  • jeffpettis
    jeffpettis Posts: 865 Member
    It already has this function. Under "check in" I believe the tab is called, you can record any number of measurements and even add your own categories. It will also graph this out for you over time under reports. And there is also a BMI and BMR calculator as well, although BMI is not really all that useful. Hope this helps.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    Assuming you are logging on via a PC....

    Go to the "Apps" tab to find s BMI (and BMR) calculator.

    Go to "Check-In" sub-tab to set up to record whatever measurements you want to track and subsequently view in "Reports".
  • j3nesis87
    j3nesis87 Posts: 18 Member
    Wow, I hadn't even spotted those! Thank you so much for the good answers.

    Out of curiosity, why is BMI not considered very useful? :) Sorry not an experienced dieter/fit person...
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    BMI is just a very simple ratio of height and weight - it takes no consideration of body composition or build.
    So an elite sportsman carrying a significant amount of muscle could well fit into the obese category despite them being fit, healthy and having a low body fat percentage.

    It's a reasonable way to track changes in populations but not a great indicator for individuals. It’s a reasonable guideline for a majority of people but there are plenty of outliers.
  • jeffpettis
    jeffpettis Posts: 865 Member
    BMI doesn't take into account lean body mass or a number of other factors. In other words someone who has quite a bit of muscle can actually be very high on the BMI chart even though they may not carry much fat. (hope that made sense) Body fat % measurements are a far better gauge of actual body composition. The BMI just doesn't take this into consideration.


    LOL... We must have been typing at the same time.
  • j3nesis87
    j3nesis87 Posts: 18 Member
    Is there any way to measure body fat percentage at home, or do you have to go get dunked in a big water tank..? (In other words can I track it myself??)
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    @jeffpettis - we really must stop agreeing as well, it isn't the MyFitnessPal way of doing things!!!
  • jeffpettis
    jeffpettis Posts: 865 Member
    @jeffpettis - we really must stop agreeing as well, it isn't the MyFitnessPal way of doing things!!!

    :laugh: LOL!!!! I was thinking the same thing! Someone is going to think that we are the same person posting under two different profiles. :drinker:
  • jeffpettis
    jeffpettis Posts: 865 Member
    Is there any way to measure body fat percentage at home, or do you have to go get dunked in a big water tank..? (In other words can I track it myself??)

    You can get a cheap pair of calipers to keep track of BF%. Look on Amazon. Any of them will work and they are around $5. And yes you should have it done by a professional but you can do it yourself and get a pretty good idea of what is going on with your body. Just make sure to take the reading in the same spot each time and under the same conditions. Of course this is probably not going to be an "exact" BF% measurement (even a professional's measurements are not 100% accurate) but over time you will be able to gauge your progress.
  • mazmataz
    mazmataz Posts: 331 Member
    There are some online calculators based on measurements and such, although I just ran my numbers through three of them and I got the following three results:

    23.1% - oh yeah
    27.7% - hmm, that'll do!
    36.9% - wtf?!!

    lol so yeah...I wouldn't recommend that!

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