Mirror, mirror, on the wall: who is the skinniest of them all ?

This post summarizes my experiences trying to know my body fat weight. I started with a good quality, highly recommended scale that reported ~ 11%. I knew that was not right, and I am fortunate to live near Lenny Kravitz’s exercise laboratory so I had the body composition testing today.

Hydrostatic calc: 21%
Calipers: 13%
Arm impedance: 19%

The techs were a little … let us say surprised … at the discrepancy between the calipers and the other tests. I don’t think poor technique is the answer. We all agreed that trends are way to go LOL.

Without a doubt build is playing a part here: I accumulate fat in my abdomen mostly and then my lower trunk, and I am left with skinny legs and no butt. Since the caliper test was based on a 3 point measurement of near the armpit, near the umbilicus and mid thigh, I am reasonably confident that it underestimated my true fat because my specific build does not place fat in 2/3 of the measured spots.

Tentative conclusions:
1. Hydrostatic is the ‘gold standard,’ and I have little reason not to mostly believe it.
2. ‘Apple’ builds can make do with a good arm impedance study
3. Normal builds might get reasonable results from a scale
4. Calipers probably work well if you pick a multi-point method than includes your fat dispositions areas.

Lastly,
I find it amusing that when I looked at these stereotypical photos of different fat content people, I was able to identify my results with as much confidence as the test battery. I mentioned this to the techs who confirmed that studies find the same.