Joshua Slocum Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 I've seen several people talking about their body fat % on here, and so I was wondering - what methods do you guys use for measuring BF%? I've heard that most of the easily available methods are of questionable accuracy, so I'd be interested in hearing about how well whatever method you're using has worked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Burnham Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 I've seen several people talking about their body fat % on here, and so I was wondering - what methods do you guys use for measuring BF%? I've heard that most of the easily available methods are of questionable accuracy, so I'd be interested in hearing about how well whatever method you're using has worked. From what I've read the dexa scan is the only accurate reading of body composition. The bodpod is another pretty good method of determining it and is more readily available. I would not trust caliper measurements. Personally I haven't found a real reason to get the exact number read. I just look in the mirror and determine whether I think it has gone up or down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emos Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 When cutting weight I measure my waist (relaxed stomach, around the navel or widest part) as a crude but fairly precise proxy for bf%. If that measurement goes down in step with my weight loss, and hopefully doesn't rise too much with weight gain, then that's good. Measuring your flexed upper-arm, where there is relatively more muscle and less fat is a good comparison as well. Ideally when losing weight that will decrease minimally while the waist measurement decreases maximally. Here's a chart of some recent weight loss. You can see a good correlation between the two factors plotted and I would assume that a very good portion of the weight lost was fat. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quick Start Test Smith Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 I use calipers and the Parillo method @ http://www.linear-software.com/online.html. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FREDERIC DUPONT Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 Very nice and interesting graph emos. Can you calculate the correlation coefficient? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emos Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 Very nice and interesting graph emos. Can you calculate the correlation coefficient? 0.98 by Pearson's r: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FREDERIC DUPONT Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 0.98 by Pearson's r:Wow, just wow! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel Leeming Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 Hi jfslocum. As others have mentioned, dexa is most accurate, followed by the body pod, followed by callipers. However, even dexa is only accurate to 1 or 2 percent. What is more important is how much fat you have compared to yesterday or last year and a good enough estimate for tracking can be had for very little from body analyzer scales. I have some salter ones which I've been using for 3 years, but there are plenty of others now. If I was buying today, I'd get some with a handheld bit which is meant to be better at measuring upper body muscle, and I'd also look for one presenting a graph of weight, muscle and fat if I could. It has been extremely useful for monitoring the many ups and downs during weight loss. I started at 75kg and 17% fat, and I'm now down to 60kg and 7% fat. I use the middle setting, if that's any help, and I reckon it's pretty close compared to bodybuilder's images posted on the web. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Maher Posted March 11, 2017 Share Posted March 11, 2017 I have been lead to believe the hydro- static dip is the most accurate reading i have booked one in four weeks time and then plan to have one every 12 weeks it costs £40 per session near me in the uk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Serven Posted March 13, 2017 Share Posted March 13, 2017 DEXA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cooper Robertson Posted May 29, 2018 Share Posted May 29, 2018 I have a hard time with understanding Body Fat Percentage. I've gotten several Free inbody scans and the BF% were absurdly inaccurate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan Walker Posted June 1, 2018 Share Posted June 1, 2018 (edited) Dexa- bod pod - hydro static in that order If you want to be accurate. Then I would go with calipers or just measuring. It doesn’t really matter what the actual number is, just that you are consistent with how you get the numbers and get a accurate trend. I had the first version of Skulpt body fat scanner . It was pretty cool and I felt it was accurate for the price. I had issues with it charging and sent it back. The newer version is probably much better and only $100 Edited June 1, 2018 by Ryan Walker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avi Samuel Posted August 11, 2018 Share Posted August 11, 2018 On 6/2/2018 at 4:13 AM, Ryan Walker said: Dexa- bod pod - hydro static in that order If you want to be accurate. Then I would go with calipers or just measuring. It doesn’t really matter what the actual number is, just that you are consistent with how you get the numbers and get a accurate trend. I had the first version of Skulpt body fat scanner . It was pretty cool and I felt it was accurate for the price. I had issues with it charging and sent it back. The newer version is probably much better and only $100 Anyone try out the new Skulpt Scanner? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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