Fit3D Scan Poor "Body Shape Rating" - is this something I can fix?

stephaniegcoffey · March 2019

I recently joined a gym which as a 3D body scan and decided to give it a try. The scan confirmed what I already knew... that I have an "apple" shape and that my trunk is wide compared to the rest of my body. I've always been shaped this way even when I weighed less. Then scan gave me a 34 out of 100 for my body shape, with 0 being the worst. Clearly, that isn't good. Now I am full of questions and am a bit concerned. Any help or reassurance that people can offer is appreciated!

The scan also told me I have 22.4% body fat, which is in the healthy range. Given how bad my waist to hip ratio is I actually thought my body fat would be higher. I also have no idea how accurate these scanners are.

Anyway, I've attached the scan image here and am wondering if the "body shape" score is actually something I'll be able to significantly improve with work, or if it's just how I'm shaped. I do have some extra fat to lose around my middle, and I'm hoping that going to the gym regularly will improve this. I'll be alternating weight lifting/ spinning for my workouts.

How worried should I be about my body shape if I keep my body fat% in the healthy range? I know fat around the middle is the most dangerous to your health, and I have a family history of heart disease. How low should I be aiming to get my body fat% to avoid these negative health impacts? Thanks!

h7463 · March 2019

IMO, if a gym has fancy scanners, then they'll likely want to sell you a product afterwards. Don't get discouraged. See your family doctor for advise, not an internet forum. The doc should be familiar with your family history, and will know better.
Best of luck!

mom23mangos · March 2019

That scan looks like a perfectly normal athletic woman. 22.4% BF is great in a female. You don't look apple shaped from those images, but if you are there isn't much you can do about it. It also looks like you have a pretty defined waist. What are your measurements? I believe the recommended ratio from WHO is less than 0.85%.

TavistockToad · March 2019

before you had the scan, what were your thoughts on your bodyshape?

unless you were really sucking your stomach in, i am not sure how your waist/hip ratio can be bad, based on the pictures? and your BF% is completely normal, if not towards the low end of normal so not sure why that number is an issue for you?

collectingblues · March 2019

That body shape looks perfectly normal.

All of these scanners/evaluators seem to ignore that not everyone is going to be a pear or hourglass shape. Some of us are built pretty straight up and down, and have a more athletic build. Some of us store most of our fat in our torso. There's nothing wrong with any shape.

Were YOU happy with your shape before this nonsense told you you were bad? If you were, ignore it -- it's just trying to shame you and sell you something.

MelanieCN77 · March 2019

What the actual *kitten*. This is next level horse carp designed to shame you and sell something. Tell them to go jump in a lake.

If you have concerns about visceral fat, get a DEXA scan where they give you more numbers and less judgement.

puffbrat · March 2019

We seriously now have machines to rate our body shape and shame us??? The images don't make you look apple shaped and do make you look healthy and normal. Why do you care what a machine says about your shape when your body fat percentage is within the healthy range?

tinkerbellang83 · March 2019

Hip to Waist ratio is one of many ways that doctors can assess risk of some illnesses, it's not the be all and end all of health and at your body fat % I wouldn't worry too much about carrying a little extra weight there. Your hip to waist ratio look totally fine from the scan pictures in any case. If you were truly apple-shaped you would bulge out at the waist, whereas yours tapers in and is narrower than both your hips and shoulders.

heybales · March 2019

That H:W ratio is becoming like BMI - it is a population statistic formula really - and may be useful if you need to pay attention or get something checked out.

But now it takes the non-lazy Dr to say yes your ratio is in a zone level to perhaps be concerned, but your body shape means you are an outlier and your tests say you are just fine.

Of course that H:W doesn't take a scan to get it.

I'm betting that machine is also intended to go on the whole theory of body shapes to mean differences in eating or exercise styles - so those that buy it can have a jumping point to sell something more.

Mbierschbach · March 2019

Wow. Now I've heard it all. This is as bad as aholes in school giving girls a rating walking into the cafeteria. This POS actually rates you in a healthy bodyfat range and then says you're "meh shaped".

I can line up 3 body shapes with the same body fat percentage and tell you which one I PREFER...but that doesn't mean any of those bodies can do much about it. Bodybuilders struggle trying to overcome their natural shape their entire career and still often can't.

I would ignore that stupid scan and frankly I'd leave any facility employing such a thing.

Mbierschbach · March 2019

I just read how they make up your "body rating" and it's not as nefarious as it sounds...but it is still based on a bunch of statistical norms. If you put on a corset before this scan your score would go up immensely even if you weighed the same. That's how "valuable" this information is.

For your perusal.

https://support.fit3d.com/hc/en-us/articles/360004621494-Body-Shape-Rating-BSR-

Kathryn247 · March 2019

If you're a 34, who in the world would be 100? or even over 50? WTAF? Go for "healthy" and "strong," and ignore the machine.

cmriverside · March 2019

I'm not sure what "improvement" you need. That sounds like some fancy way to get more of your money. Your body looks like a woman with a good weight and very little room for improvement. I mean, sure, all of us have room for improvement - I just don't see where yours would be.

I agree with @Mbierschbach - that report would cause me to cancel my gym membership at that gym due to lameness.

Please don't give it any more room in your head!

cwolfman13 · March 2019

Your body shape doesn't determine your health or health risk. You are at a healthy BF% and that's what is important. That machine is a bunch of hooey.

stephaniegcoffey · March 2019

Thank you to everyone who replied! With regards to my shape and whether I was "happy" with it before getting body-shamed by the 3D scanner... of course I've always wished I could have more of an hourglass shape (smaller waist relative to my hips) because that's what's viewed as conventionally attractive for women. However, I never thought about my body shape as really being health risk so long as I kept my weight and BF% in check. After getting the scan I got more concerned with potential health issues.

I think I will take this scan with a grain of salt and just continue on my plan to work out regularly and focus on body composition. I think I will get another scan down the road in order to see whether I've been able to get my BF% down at all. I'll try not to pay too much attention to the body shape rating at this point..

Thanks again to everyone!

MikePTY · March 2019

There was an episode of Scrubs many years ago where one of the plot lines of the episode was the hospital getting a fancy new "full body scanner", where you could go and get a scan where it would tell you any little thing that may be a potential health issue. Their was a big debate over it between the "caring doctor" character and the greedy CEO character because the doctor thought it was going to convince hypochondriacs that they had things wrong with them and they were going to pay for expensive, medically necessary care. That's why the greedy CEO character liked it, because it was going to make the hospital more money.

That's how I feel about a machine like this. It's there to try to convince otherwise healthy people that there is something they need to improve about themselves, so "solutions" can be sold to them to fix these so called issues.

MelanieCN77 · March 2019

MikePTY wrote: »

There was an episode of Scrubs many years ago where one of the plot lines of the episode was the hospital getting a fancy new "full body scanner", where you could go and get a scan where it would tell you any little thing that may be a potential health issue. Their was a big debate over it between the "caring doctor" character and the greedy CEO character because the doctor thought it was going to convince hypochondriacs that they had things wrong with them and they were going to pay for expensive, medically necessary care. That's why the greedy CEO character liked it, because it was going to make the hospital more money.

That's how I feel about a machine like this. It's there to try to convince otherwise healthy people that there is something they need to improve about themselves, so "solutions" can be sold to them to fix these so called issues.

Great now I need to go binge Scrubs again.

rebeccamorgan58152 · March 2019

You look great, in proportion, and I’d say most people would classify you as having an attractive figure. That machine is drunk and should go home. Ignore the stupid thing and keep doing what you’re doing because it’s working very well.

nowine4me · March 2019

You don’t look like an Apple and 22% is great.

Fit3D Scan Poor "Body Shape Rating" - is this something I can fix?

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