Body fat percentage vs. Weighing?

zipperfall
zipperfall Posts: 45 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So, I was thinking about the whole obsession with body fat percentage and how it's a more accurate depiction of how healthy/fit you are and I got to wondering this: why do doctors' offices still utilize scales? When you go to get a regular checkup, wouldn't it make more sense to calculate the patient's body fat %?

Replies

  • Greenrun99
    Greenrun99 Posts: 2,065 Member
    takes longer and requires more expensive items normally than a scale.. plus they use BMI still which is based off height/weight... just goes to show you that most doctors know nothing about nutrition.
  • jwdieter
    jwdieter Posts: 2,582 Member
    Weighing takes ~20 seconds and can be done with clothes on.
    Decent body fat analysis takes about 20 minutes and requires a changing room and bathing suit.

    BMI provides an easy framework to use and understand, and nearly everyone who registers BMI obese is actually quite fat.
  • timbrom
    timbrom Posts: 303 Member
    Also, all body fat measurements can be way off for some people. You hear stories of competition-fit bodybulders at about 3-4% bodyfat registering in the high teens even on a DEXA scan, which is (on average) quite accurate but also expensive. BIA scales are cheap and easy, but are pretty much useless, especially at a doctors office where a patients current hydration can have a significant effect on the measurement. Calipers require training, still have a larg-ish margin of error and the measurements taken by two different people can vary significantly.

    A scale is cheap, easy, accurate, gives you a number, can be done by anyone with no training and, really, for most of the population, BMI is at least a decent ballpark measurement. And assuming your doctor is not a complete idiot, they'll be okay with a person who is "overweight" if they are also lean.

    The only truly accurate way to measure bodyfat is dissection, which has a less than optimal outcome.
  • ottermotorcycle
    ottermotorcycle Posts: 654 Member
    Yeah they're just general practitioners, and if body fat isn't a big issue it's more expensive and difficult to do. Though skinfold calipers are cheap and relatively accurate... I get my body fat tested more often than I step on the scale, but I get it done with calipers for free on campus.

    I have been wondering if I'll be able to ask my doc when I get home... but as I don't have any weight-related health issues I don't know that I'll be able to.
  • PJPrimrose
    PJPrimrose Posts: 916 Member
    "The only truly accurate way to measure bodyfat is dissection, which has a less than optimal outcome." I must say, medical humor is entirely too easy to spot!:laugh:

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