My body fat suggests I'm obese :-s

tinatw
tinatw Posts: 11
in Health and Weight Loss
Hello guys.

Basically i did my gym review the other day and they tested my body far with one of those hand held electrical body fat testers it said my body fat is 32% which suggests I'm obese. I'm 5'2 and weigh 8.3 and a dress size uk8 sometimes a uk6 and would say I'm fairly toned so I just don't get it does any one know if I can get a more accurate reading?

Thanks you

X
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Replies

  • benno1978
    benno1978 Posts: 90 Member
    Hi

    I'm not sure what you mean by one of those hand held electrical body fat testers - is it one of those that sends an electrical impulse and measures the electrical impedance? If so they are not very reliable. Skin-fold measurements with callipers would be much more accurate ask your gym if they can do callipers to compare the results (you should get someone trained to use them to get accurate results) I was measuring my BF with scales that work on bioelectrical impedance and the calliper result was a lot different (lower BF on calliper measurement)

    Did you work out before the test that can screw up the reading - and cause an overestimation of body fat (by up to 19kg underestimation of fat-free mass) - it's generally recommended not to perform BIA for several hours after moderate or high intensity exercise. (I'd be concerned if your gym don't know this tbh)

    some other known issue with bioelectrical impedance are

    dehydration which can cause an overestimation of body fat (by up to 5kg underestimation of fat-free mass)
    variations throughout the day - up to 10% variance between highest and lowest figures in a day

    It doesn't sound like you're anywhere near obese - your BMI works out as 21.4 which is right in the middle of normal and if that's you in the profile pic you def don't look even slightly overweight

    32% is just into the obese range for women accoridng to this ACE chart http://www.builtlean.com/2010/08/03/ideal-body-fat-percentage-chart/
  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
    those things are not terribly accurate.... might be better to try getting your body fat measured with calipers instead, this directly measures subcutaneous fat

    it is possible to be obese according to body fat while you're within the healthy BMI weight range and look fairly slim. this is called normal weight obesity, and the cause is being sedentary and skipping meals or starving yourself or otherwise eating very little. This results in loss of lean body mass, while the body still is carrying too much fat, so the weight falls in the healthy range, but the body composition is far from healthy.

    If you exercise regularly and eat well, and have not been starving yourself or eating way too little, it's most likely that the reading is wrong. If you've been starving yourself, or undereating + overdoing cardio, then it's possible you have normal weight obesity.

    Also, if you are reasonably toned up and not flabby, that also suggests that the reading is wrong. People with normal weight obesity are thin, but flabby and lack any kind of "tone" or shape, because the muscles are wasted away under a thickish layer of fat. If that doesn't sound like you, ignore the reading.
  • delicious_cocktail
    delicious_cocktail Posts: 5,797 Member
    :noway:
    :love:

    If accuracy matters, you can get hydrostatically tested. I'd venture to say that even calipers are better than impedance testing.

    However, numbers aren't particularly important. I'd be happy to weigh 250 pounds with 30% BF as long as I was healthy, not flabby, functionally strong, and liked the way I looked.
  • EvgeniZyntx
    EvgeniZyntx Posts: 24,208 Member
    You look great. Those machines are not very accurate - see delicious' post^
  • Ophidion
    Ophidion Posts: 2,065 Member
    Some times visual comparison can be the more effective method, machine methods can be out considerably due to a high amount of variables.

    Try this link...

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1105598-bodyfat-estimation-thread
  • Ophidion
    Ophidion Posts: 2,065 Member
    However, numbers aren't particularly important. I'd be happy to weigh 250 pounds with 30% BF as long as I was healthy, not flabby, functionally strong, and liked the way I looked.
    Numbers or metrics are a great way to track progress but in the end ultimately it is how you feel about yourself, are you happy with how you look? Do you feel stronger and happier etc
  • DebbieLyn63
    DebbieLyn63 Posts: 2,654 Member
    Might we assume that your profile pic is not a current one of you? If that IS what you look like now, then no, you are no where near obese. I don't know what your weight is in lbs. What is your BMI?

    Did the math- if 8.3 is equal to 115 lbs, then no, you are not even overweight, much less obese. Machine is screwed up. Carry on.
  • BarbellBlondieRuns
    BarbellBlondieRuns Posts: 511 Member
    They are not accurate. I bought one hoping that it'd at least be consistent... no luck. After weeks of eating at a deficit & running hard & lifting heavy, it said that my body fat increased. Um, nope. Not a chance. It screws with your head a bit too even though it's not accurate. I took a recent progress pic of myself at the gym and could easily see the increased muscle tone. Feel free to add me as a friend.
  • BarbellBlondieRuns
    BarbellBlondieRuns Posts: 511 Member
    Also, BMI is not meant for individual use. It's a population tool. What your BMI is doesn't amount to much, especially if you lead a healthy lifestyle.
  • RobP1192
    RobP1192 Posts: 310 Member
    I went to my doctor's to get a physical, and he told me by my weight and height that i am considered "obese". He looked at me and just told me "i'm suppose to tell you that". He admitted that BMI doesn't take into account muscle mass, but then did mention that even with lean muscle mass, it comes down to how much stress is put on the heart when you're "overweight".
  • janicelo1971
    janicelo1971 Posts: 823 Member
    clearly we can all see from your pictures you are not obese...get a more reliable test if it really matters
  • taiyola
    taiyola Posts: 964 Member
    Have you heard of 'skinny fat'? You can be slim or skinny and still be made up of more fat as opposed to more muscle.

    Plus, as others have said, most of the equipment used to measure BF% isn't 100% accurate, more of an indication. You look great, so if you're happy with the way you look, I wouldn't worry.
  • EDollah
    EDollah Posts: 464 Member
    Of all the gadgets I've bought for my fitness effort, my hand held bf% analyzer is the biggest waste of money.

    I take weekly measurements with it still, even though I came to the conclusion that it was bollocks a couple of months ago. For comparison, I do a Bod Pod analysis every 30 pounds or so, just for comparison and validation, since the Bod Pod is regarded as fairly reliable. What I've noticed is that the hand held device underestimated fat when I started, significantly actually. Now it significantly overestimates fat, compared to Bod Pod and other techniques I use to verify (such as online bf% estimators).

    Why I don't just throw it out I don't know. I certainly would advise anyone to not put stock in the results they got and would strongly try to dissuade anyone from spending their money on one.

    Tina if you genuinely want to know your bf% then you can see if a Bod Pod is available in your area. DEXA scans are supposed to be good too, though perhaps more expensive.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,427 MFP Moderator
    Bioimpadence machinces can be off by as much as 6% based on hydration levels. But if you do have high body fat and low weight, it means you are lacking enough lean body mass. Essentially adding some muscle and then doing a cut (aka a bulk/cut phase) will lower your overall body fat % and provide more definition. It just a question if you want to do that. It's also possible (but takes very low) that you can eat at maintenance, concentrate on weight training and see composition changes.
  • DebbieLyn63
    DebbieLyn63 Posts: 2,654 Member
    Hmmm, a 5'2" glamour model from the UK, who weighs 115 lbs and was told she was obese.
    And a profile pic that looks like a SIMMS character.

    Lots of things do not add up here.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    BMI = 21

    Middle of healthy. Not obese.

    Move along, nothing to see here.
  • Rocky_ZG
    Rocky_ZG Posts: 70 Member
    Hello guys.

    Basically i did my gym review the other day and they tested my body far with one of those hand held electrical body fat testers it said my body fat is 32% which suggests I'm obese. I'm 5'2 and weigh 8.3 and a dress size uk8 sometimes a uk6 and would say I'm fairly toned so I just don't get it does any one know if I can get a more accurate reading?

    Thanks you

    X

    One of those hand held pieces of s**t tells me that I have 41% of fat.
    And high class biometric scales say 25.5% which seems more accurate.
    So go and find biometric scales somewhere. Some doctors or pharmacysts should have them.
  • tinatw
    tinatw Posts: 11
    Hmmm, a 5'2" glamour model from the UK, who weighs 115 lbs and was told she was obese.
    And a profile pic that looks like a SIMMS character.

    Lots of things do not add up here.

    I'm not sure if you meant that to sound rude or not, I just wanted everyone's opinion as I have been told that it can be day around the organs etc even if physically I don't look fat and try to find a better way to measure body fat so i could get a more accurate reading.

    Anyway thanks for your help

    Tina
  • tinatw
    tinatw Posts: 11
    Thank you very much! I feel so much better now it's just the fact that after he tested me he I actually asked how accurate they are and he was like "they are very accurate" I think it's terrible they can say things like this! I used to struggle with eating disorders and back then something like this would have really done my head in! I'm deffo going to try that!

    Thank you!

    X
    Hello guys.

    Basically i did my gym review the other day and they tested my body far with one of those hand held electrical body fat testers it said my body fat is 32% which suggests I'm obese. I'm 5'2 and weigh 8.3 and a dress size uk8 sometimes a uk6 and would say I'm fairly toned so I just don't get it does any one know if I can get a more accurate reading?

    Thanks you

    X

    One of those hand held pieces of s**t tells me that I have 41% of fat.
    And high class biometric scales say 25.5% which seems more accurate.
    So go and find biometric scales somewhere. Some doctors or pharmacysts should have them.
  • tinatw
    tinatw Posts: 11
    They are not accurate. I bought one hoping that it'd at least be consistent... no luck. After weeks of eating at a deficit & running hard & lifting heavy, it said that my body fat increased. Um, nope. Not a chance. It screws with your head a bit too even though it's not accurate. I took a recent progress pic of myself at the gym and could easily see the increased muscle tone. Feel free to add me as a friend.
    [/

    Thank you for this! That's unbelievable they shouldn't even be able to sell these things! Lol I'm defintely not using it again anyway. Well done with your progress and keep up the hard work :-)

    X
  • tinatw
    tinatw Posts: 11
    Of all the gadgets I've bought for my fitness effort, my hand held bf% analyzer is the biggest waste of money.

    I take weekly measurements with it still, even though I came to the conclusion that it was bollocks a couple of months ago. For comparison, I do a Bod Pod analysis every 30 pounds or so, just for comparison and validation, since the Bod Pod is regarded as fairly reliable. What I've noticed is that the hand held device underestimated fat when I started, significantly actually. Now it significantly overestimates fat, compared to Bod Pod and other techniques I use to verify (such as online bf% estimators).

    Why I don't just throw it out I don't know. I certainly would advise anyone to not put stock in the results they got and would strongly try to dissuade anyone from spending their money on one.

    Tina if you genuinely want to know your bf% then you can see if a Bod Pod is available in your area. DEXA scans are supposed to be good too, though perhaps more expensive.

    It really sounds as though these things r a waste of time and money! I will defintely look into that, I know in reality it's not that important as I should really go by how I feel in myself well we all shoukd really but I am curious to know what my BF is roughly.

    Thank you do much for you help :-)

    X
  • cmira5ol
    cmira5ol Posts: 1,246 Member
    I just purchased a caliper to measure my body fat % and I got a range of 18.6% - 20.2%. I was like WTF but as long as I continue working hard on my goal, I'm not allowing that number to discourage me.

    Plus, those goddam things are not accurate anyway :wink:
  • MrsBingley
    MrsBingley Posts: 145
    Hello guys.

    Basically i did my gym review the other day and they tested my body far with one of those hand held electrical body fat testers it said my body fat is 32% which suggests I'm obese. I'm 5'2 and weigh 8.3 and a dress size uk8 sometimes a uk6 and would say I'm fairly toned so I just don't get it does any one know if I can get a more accurate reading?

    Thanks you

    X

    ..did they immediately try to sell you some sort of product to "fix" the problem? It seems fishy. I can't prove it, but I think some gyms intentionally rig equipment to convince you that things are worse than they are. The scale at my gym reads 5 lbs higher than any other scale (including dr scale).

    I understand it is more difficult to rig a meter, but I'm between 33-35% body fat. Look at my photos. You look nothing like me. Something doesn't add up. Check out the photos here to see bodies at different BF % http://www.healthygrad.org/body-fat-percentage/

    **ETA: the full body photos are actually when I was in the 36-37% range, but besides slimming out just a bit in the middle, I look basically the same
  • doctorandrew
    doctorandrew Posts: 32
    You should try the Bod Pod. It analyzes your fat pretty accurately.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    The handheld models really only measure upper body fat and depending on the model, may be really inaccurate. If everything in your profile pic is real, you might just have fat in right places.
  • Longbowgilly
    Longbowgilly Posts: 262 Member
    Maybe in the meantime you could try using the Navy Method, it involves using a tape measure and I personally believe that it is more accurate than those body fat scales!
    If you Google Navy method body fat you should find it.

    I hope that helps a bit x
  • mrsamanda86
    mrsamanda86 Posts: 869 Member

    I'm not sure if you meant that to sound rude or not, I just wanted everyone's opinion as I have been told that it can be day around the organs etc even if physically I don't look fat and try to find a better way to measure body fat so i could get a more accurate reading.


    Anyway thanks for your help

    Tina

    That was a super awesome way of oh so subtle-y putting your name out there for publicity. Nice!!
  • kyleekay10
    kyleekay10 Posts: 1,812 Member

    I'm not sure if you meant that to sound rude or not, I just wanted everyone's opinion as I have been told that it can be day around the organs etc even if physically I don't look fat and try to find a better way to measure body fat so i could get a more accurate reading.


    Anyway thanks for your help

    Tina

    That was a super awesome way of oh so subtle-y putting your name out there for publicity. Nice!!

    Annnnd now we know why this got posted.
  • delicious_cocktail
    delicious_cocktail Posts: 5,797 Member

    I'm not sure if you meant that to sound rude or not, I just wanted everyone's opinion as I have been told that it can be day around the organs etc even if physically I don't look fat and try to find a better way to measure body fat so i could get a more accurate reading.


    Anyway thanks for your help

    Tina

    That was a super awesome way of oh so subtle-y putting your name out there for publicity. Nice!!

    Annnnd now we know why this got posted.

    I don't. Is the implication that she does cam shows or something?

    If so, does anyone have the URL so I can sign up?
  • kyleekay10
    kyleekay10 Posts: 1,812 Member

    I'm not sure if you meant that to sound rude or not, I just wanted everyone's opinion as I have been told that it can be day around the organs etc even if physically I don't look fat and try to find a better way to measure body fat so i could get a more accurate reading.

    Anyway thanks for your help

    Tina

    That was a super awesome way of oh so subtle-y putting your name out there for publicity. Nice!!

    Annnnd now we know why this got posted.

    I don't. Is the implication that she does cam shows or something?

    If so, does anyone have the URL so I can sign up?

    I'm thinking she wanted to draw attention to herself with a ridiculous claim and then promote her profiles.

    Also :angry:

    No more cam shows for you!!!

    :laugh:

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