Body fat percentage

sw33t_r3v3ng3

How is Body Fat percentage calculated? I cant find a reliable one anywhere. One told me i was 6% and another said I was 14? Anyone know how?

Burky126

BMI is determined by height and weight.

sw33t_r3v3ng3

Burky126 wrote: »

BMI is determined by height and weight.

BMI is a different thing. That just tells you weather your obese, or not Im pretty sure!

Last_Minute

BF % needs to be calculated by using calipers although there are other methods that I've read about but not familiar with.

You could roughly guesstimate it by looking online for BF % pictures and comparing yourself to them, may give a rough estimate at best though.

tenifan

BIA scales can also be used. They are inaccurate, but at least you can monitor a trend in your body fat. Don't use them after exercising as sweat and all the sweating you did will mess up the reading.

Calipers are also inaccurate and vary depending on the tester. If a person skilled in taking the readings, and you always use the same person, it can be useful to monitor trends.

I believe underwater weighing is most accurate but don't know anyone who had it done or how much it would cost.

You can also use a formula based on BMI and body type.

Any of the cheaper methods is probably fine. The important thing is consistent measuring for comparable readings. My gym has the BIA scales and I used it once. Forget what my reading was. My bro's personal trainer used a calipers.

It's only really useful if you have some sort of target and want to track your progress regularly.. but in my opinion the best test you can do is take your tshirt off and look in the mirror.

Alf Veedersane

The most accurate is a DEXA scan.

The calipers can be pretty accurate when done by someone who knows what they're oing

Mellor

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

The most accurate is a DEXA scan.

The calipers can be pretty accurate when done by someone who knows what they're oing

There was a post a while back (from Hanley I think). Who took caliper measurements from 11 or so sites. He then plugged the value into a few of the different formulas - 3, 5, 7, 11 site etc. The variance in the bf% results would call the accuracy into question.

They are great for tracking change in measurable terms (skinfold mm's). But the actual bf% number might not be spot on - which doesn't actually matter

Doug Cartel

Mellor wrote: »

There was a post a while back (from Hanley I think). Who took caliper measurements from 11 or so sites. He then plugged the value into a few of the different formulas - 3, 5, 7, 11 site etc. The variance in the bf% results would call the accuracy into question.

I had a 7 (I think it was 7) point measurement taken by Will Heffernan and depending on which formula he used, the result was 7% or 11%. I would consider that to be a fairly high variance.

As you say though, the thing about the skin-fold test is you can just track your mm readings and these will give you a reliable measure of your progress. Compare this to something like an electric resistance test which can be affected by loads of outside factors that have nothing to do with your body fat.

.ak

I use a calipers. According to the calipers and the method I use I'm 14% down from 18% at the begining of the season. Is it accurate? I doubt it. I think I'm probably less (or more, feck it), but it's a way of measuring something so unless you go to a professional to get a scan done it's just a way of telling you are you going up or are you going down, which in terms of monitoring your progress is all you need.

At the end of the day the mirror will tell you if you're looking lean or not...

Hanley

Consistency > accuracy

As in taking consistent measurements and tracking them is more important than how the measurements compare against a dexa scan.

Alf Veedersane

For the majority, it's a measurement they probably don't need to worry about.

But like weight, it's a relative scale that's more important. If you get it done, are you improving on your previous measurement.