Fat percentage?

marilynrene
marilynrene Posts: 24 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
My BMI is normal at 24.3 however my fat percentage is 36.9%.
Can anyone tell me what this means? Why is my fat percentage so high? It makes no sense.
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Replies

  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
    Firstly, how was that measured?
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    edited September 2015
    marilynrene wrote: »
    My BMI is normal at 24.3 however my fat percentage is 36.9%.
    Can anyone tell me what this means? Why is my fat percentage so high? It makes no sense.

    It's math. It always makes sense :)

    Your BMI is calculated based on height and weight. Your body fat is based on your body composition (fat vs lean.) A person who weighs 150 pounds could have 18 pounds of fat and be 12% body fat. Or he could have 25 pounds of fat and be 16% body fat. Or he could have 45 pounds of fat and be 30% body fat.
  • marilynrene
    marilynrene Posts: 24 Member
    [qit was meadueuote="Hornsby;33832095"]Firstly, how was that measured? [/quote]
    Hornsby wrote: »
    Firstly, how was that measured?
    Hornsby wrote: »
    Firstly, how was that measured?

  • marilynrene
    marilynrene Posts: 24 Member
    It was measured on my Aria scale
  • marilynrene
    marilynrene Posts: 24 Member
    [quotso y bm says I Am normal and my percentage of body fat is obese!?e="jemhh;33832176"]
    marilynrene wrote: »
    My BMI is normal at 24.3 however my fat percentage is 36.9%.
    Can anyone tell me what this means? Why is my fat percentage so high? It makes no sense.

    It's math. It always makes sense :)

    Your BMI is calculated based on height and weight. Your body fat is based on your body composition (fat vs lean.) A person who weighs 150 pounds could have 18 pounds of fat and be 12% body fat. Or he could have 25 pounds of fat and be 16% body fat. Or he could have 45 pounds of fat and be 30% body fat.[/quote]

  • marilynrene
    marilynrene Posts: 24 Member
    So my BMI says that I am normal but my percentage of body fat says that I am obese!??!
  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
    Those Aria scales are known to be super inaccurate. I wouldn't trust it at all. Sadly, you can get a better "guesstimate" by just comparing yourself to the photo below.

    body-fat-percentage-women-abs-and-bossom.jpg
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    marilynrene wrote: »
    So my BMI says that I am normal but my percentage of body fat says that I am obese!??!

    If the number you have is correct, per this page, you are very close to obese, yes.

    http://www.humankinetics.com/excerpts/excerpts/normal-ranges-of-body-weight-and-body-fat
  • raven56706
    raven56706 Posts: 918 Member
    Hornsby wrote: »
    Those Aria scales are known to be super inaccurate. I wouldn't trust it at all. Sadly, you can get a better "guesstimate" by just comparing yourself to the photo below.

    body-fat-percentage-women-abs-and-bossom.jpg

    is this a menu? lol...
  • McCloud33
    McCloud33 Posts: 959 Member
    In general, when people have a normal BMI and a high BF% it indicates that they're possibly "skinny fat", or have more fat than normal for their weight.

    You can also have the opposite...a low/normal BF% and a high BMI...which indicates a higher than normal muscle mass.

    This is why most people that I've met that know anything, don't use BMI. It only tells you how your weight compares to the average populace for a given height. It says nothing about whether that weight is fat, muscle, or heavy clothing.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    IMO, BMI gives you a good range to aim at if you either have never been at a healthy weight or haven't been for a long time. I went from too thin to fat within a fairly short period of time in my early-mid 20s. I didn't really spend much time (less than a year) at what I would say was a healthy weight. When I started to try to lose weight in my mid/late 30s, I didn't really have a good idea, of the top of my head, of what I should aim for. So I chose the top number in the healthy BMI range for my weight. Since hitting that, I've just worked on lowering my body fat. I don't keep track of my actual BMI number on a regular basis.
  • _bellator_
    _bellator_ Posts: 50 Member
    BMI is an outdated and not-very-useful tool, particularly for those of us who lift weights. Bodyfat scales are not very inaccurate. You'll be better off not getting too freaked out by either ot these numbers, and instead gauging your progress with a) progress photos and b) how your clothes fit.
  • ald783
    ald783 Posts: 690 Member
    There's a decent chance the scale is wrong on your BF% because basic scales are pretty inaccurate in measuring body fat. I had a scale a few years ago that claimed to measure body fat and it was like 12% points off from what my body fat was when I had it tested using skinfold calipers which is more accurate.

    It's possible that you are also overweight by one measure and normal weight by the other, but I would try to get a better measure of your body fat.
  • marilynrene
    marilynrene Posts: 24 Member
    I've lost 36 lbs and have gone from a size 16 to a size 8. I don't look obese.
    I guess I'll keep working out and see if the body fat drops. Or I could just ignore the scale! Hah.
  • middlehaitch
    middlehaitch Posts: 8,483 Member
    Try one of these sites that do body fat % from your measurements.

    healthstatus.com
    Calculator.net
    Linear-software.com

    They are probably more acurate than your scale.
    Compare them anyway and average it out.
    I know my scale is wrong, but at least it tells me if my BF is moving up or down.

    Cheers, h.

  • marilynrene
    marilynrene Posts: 24 Member
    Thank you, I I'll try that. The Aria scale was quite expensive. It is quite annoying that it might not be accurate.
  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
    No in home tests are very accurate.
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
    marilynrene wrote: »
    It was measured on my Aria scale

    I've had a Fitbit Aria wifi scale for two years, and the bodyfat percentage is useless. It sends a pulse up one leg and down the other, then guesstimates your upper body. And it gets thrown off by how hydrated you are.

    But I love never having to log my weight.
  • marilynrene
    marilynrene Posts: 24 Member
    I took my body measurements and input them into heathstatus.com. because there is not a great difference between my waist and my hips my fat % is indeed 37% which is inline with my Aria scale. So weight wise I am not overweight, but I have too much body fat around my waist.
  • ghartleroad1
    ghartleroad1 Posts: 51 Member
    Same here. I was at 19.4 BMI with 27.5% body fat. All everyone keeps telling me is to focus on weightlifting (instead of cardio). I'm a few weeks into the New Rules regime.

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