How to measure body fat? Am I obese :o

Chantelle9112
Chantelle9112 Posts: 16 Member
in Motivation and Support
I went to a 8 week weight loss fitness group where they weighed and measured everyone to calculate body fat.
The waist measurement they used was around the naval(not my waist).
Which is accurate more accurate, if I use my actual waist measurement my body fat is in the acceptable range if I use the naval measurement it says Im obese?

Replies

  • MichelleSilverleaf
    MichelleSilverleaf Posts: 2,027 Member
    Getting a dexa scan is pretty much the only reliable way to determine body fat, I believe. There may be another scan method that's just as good but I can't recall the name of it.
  • Chantelle9112
    Chantelle9112 Posts: 16 Member
    I know it’s not the best method but I mean it sucks to be measured as obese especially if they did it wrong :’( it’s really bothering me.
  • smolmaus
    smolmaus Posts: 442 Member
    edited January 2019
    Chantelle9112 wrote: »
    I know it’s not the best method but I mean it sucks to be measured as obese especially if they did it wrong :’( it’s really bothering me.

    Your health markers don't change depending on where/how they measured you. Obese is just a cut off where statistically the risk factors for certain diseases are higher for people either with the measured bf%, with the measured height/ waist ratio or a certain BMI. If you game the system by being obese by one measurement but not the other, that doesn't change reality.

    That said, there is no morality attached to the word obese, it's just a category, a medical descriptor. There's no need to attach any sort of feelings to it, though of course many people do. Your body is your body no matter how it's measured so I wouldn't let a single word affect how you feel about it. If you're at a higher risk of certain conditions that might change how you treat your body but I don't think it should change how you feel about it.

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