Bod Pod, accurate or not?

NCK96
NCK96 Posts: 146 Member
edited December 20 in Health and Weight Loss
I've been working with my doctor to lose weight and a few weeks ago she suggested I test my body composition with a Bod Pod. She said they're quite accurate for measuring body fat percentages and would give me a good idea of how my weight loss was going. I did it and got my results, and while I'm flattered, I'm skeptical. It said I was 'Moderately Lean' and that my body fat percentage is 23.6% - "Fat level is generally acceptable for good health". I had the results sent to my doctor and we'll discuss them at my next appointment, but I'm guessing she's going to back track and say that they're actually not THAT accurate.

Why? Because originally my doctor told me I needed to lose 50 lbs. and so far I've lost 30. I'd still have to lose another 12 pounds just to move out of the Overweight category of BMI, not that I care much about BMI.

I see a lot of people posting their body fat percentages on here and wonder where are they getting their numbers from and how do they know if they're accurate?

Replies

  • MikePTY
    MikePTY Posts: 3,814 Member
    edited April 2019
    The Bod Pod is about as accurate as they come. The accuracy is pretty comparable with a Dexa Scan. Those two are considered the gold standard. That being said, there is no 100% percent accurate way to measure body fat levels on a living person, so even good methods like the Bod Pod can have some margin of error. However, it's not impossible for you to be 12 pounds over healthy BMI and still have a 23.6 body fat percentage. I'd say there's a good chance that it's pretty accurate, at least within a couple of percentage points either way as margin of error.

    The truth is when a lot of people here say "I'm x percent body fat", they don't really know exactly. Most of them will have measured with a less accurate methods. A lot use bioimpedence, which is less accurate, or measurements, or even just the eyeball test.

  • NCK96
    NCK96 Posts: 146 Member
    MikePTY wrote: »
    The Bod Pod is about as accurate as they come. The accuracy is pretty comparable with a Dexa Scan. Those two are considered the gold standard. That being said, there is no 100% percent accurate way to measure body fat levels on a living person, so even good methods like the Bod Pod can have some margin of error. However, it's not impossible for you to be 12 pounds over healthy BMI and still have a 23.6 body fat percentage. I'd say there's a good chance that it's pretty accurate, at least within a couple of percentage points either way as margin of error.

    The truth is when a lot of people here say "I'm x percent body fat", they don't really know exactly. Most of them will have measured with a less accurate methods. A lot use bioimpedence, which is less accurate, or measurements, or even just the eyeball test.

    This is what I first heard about Bod Pod, but then I started reading more online, like this:

    https://weightology.net/the-pitfalls-of-body-fat-measurement-part-3-bod-pod/

    https://journals.uic.edu/ojs/index.php/JKNSR/article/view/5991/0
  • MikePTY
    MikePTY Posts: 3,814 Member
    NCK96 wrote: »
    MikePTY wrote: »
    The Bod Pod is about as accurate as they come. The accuracy is pretty comparable with a Dexa Scan. Those two are considered the gold standard. That being said, there is no 100% percent accurate way to measure body fat levels on a living person, so even good methods like the Bod Pod can have some margin of error. However, it's not impossible for you to be 12 pounds over healthy BMI and still have a 23.6 body fat percentage. I'd say there's a good chance that it's pretty accurate, at least within a couple of percentage points either way as margin of error.

    The truth is when a lot of people here say "I'm x percent body fat", they don't really know exactly. Most of them will have measured with a less accurate methods. A lot use bioimpedence, which is less accurate, or measurements, or even just the eyeball test.

    This is what I first heard about Bod Pod, but then I started reading more online, like this:

    https://weightology.net/the-pitfalls-of-body-fat-measurement-part-3-bod-pod/

    https://journals.uic.edu/ojs/index.php/JKNSR/article/view/5991/0


    I've also seen this one, which seems to say the opposite. https://examine.com/nutrition/an-accuracy-thing-measuring-body-fat-percentage/
  • Theoldguy1
    Theoldguy1 Posts: 2,496 Member
    edited April 2019
    The NFL has used Bod Pod for years at the Combine where they are making multi-million dollar decisions to measure BF%. That said, they also have the players go through the assessments in skin tight UA shirts and shorts so the jiggly bits will show up that way too.
  • mom23mangos
    mom23mangos Posts: 3,069 Member
    I compared several different methods a few years back and bioimpedence scale, BodPod and DEXA were all pretty close with the scale being the lowest, BodPod 1% higher and DEXA 1% higher than that. So all with 2%.
  • CSARdiver
    CSARdiver Posts: 6,252 Member
    Depends on how you define accurate. DEXA holds an inherent 5-20% degree of error depending on the make/model, the skill of the operator and the calibration of the equipment.

    All measurement systems hold about the same, so what matters is trending over time to ensure your plan is working.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    No they aren't usually regarded as being as good as a DEXA scan - they are popular with sports teams and sports labs because they are completely non-intrusive and once the unit is purchased repeat measurements are very inexpensive and don't require medically qualified technicians.
    I think regarding then as "Silver Standard" would be more accurate as opposed to DEXA and Hydrostatic testing being more commonly seen as Gold Standard.

    I had a series of BodPod scans and the results were reasonable apart from one which was very obviously completely wrong showing increased BF% despite loss of weight, increases in muscle measurements, increased muscle definition and vascularity.

    TBH if you know you have 50lbs to lose then having a dubious body fat estimate doesn't tell you anything useful.

    Two of the confounding issues with BodPod can be body hair and lung capacity.
  • Dilvish
    Dilvish Posts: 398 Member
    Forget tech. Other than a regular scale, none of the digital fitness trackers are very accurate and there is mounting evidence to prove it.

    Humans have lost weight and stayed fit for centuries without the use of all these gadgets. Caloric restriction and regular exercise are the the only tools you need to lose weight.

    Losing 30lbs is a great achievement and whatever you are doing, just keep doing it. Body fat percentage is no indication of overall health. Visceral fat is the concern as well as blood glucose levels. The fat portion is for cardiovascular issues and the blood glucose is for diabetes.
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
    Like most health professionals, I have mixed feelings about all body fat “measuring” methods. I’m kinda meh about the bod pod. For the expense, I don’t think you get any real increase in accuracy. I still find that keeping as strict a control over testing conditions (eg. exercise/hydration/eating status) as possible is the best (only?) way to improve accuracy.

    I did want to address the seeming discrepancy between your weight loss goal as indicated by the Bod Pod vs the goal set by the doctor.

    Without having some reasonably reliable estimate of frame size, lean body mass, and muscle mass, choosing a “ideal weight” goal is problematic at best. I can only assume the person doing so is using something like a BMI chart. While BMI ranges to apply to a majority of the population, there is a significant percentage of people for whom BMI guidelines are not appropriate.

    In other words, it would not be that unusual, nor would it be a reflection on your doctor, if your actual “ideal” body weight turned out to be 10-12 pounds different than the doctor’s original target.
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