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accuracy of body fat testing methods?
Hi all. I recently had my body fat measured by a personal trainer. She used a fitness assesment computer program and imputed my weight, height, heart rate, bp, age (38), measurements, etc, as well as 3 sets of caliper measurements. The program came up with 19.8% body fat. I was absolutly shocked as my BMI is 27-something. I've lost about 50 pounds over the past several years and while I'm active I know my strength and muscle mass needs to improve. I was expecting a body fat measurement in the acceptable range, maybe even at the high end of the fitness range, but not 19.8%. My trainer said she wasn't overly surprised at the number based on our two sessions together.
So, after walking around all day feeling quite proud of myself, I stepped on our body fat scale at home-and the result was 31%. I stewed for a couple of days then realized I could change the setting on the scale from average to athlete. Once I did the number dropped to 27 or 28%. That number seemed a bit more realistic to me.
I'm wondering, which method or number is more accurate? FWIW, I have a big frame-would that skew the results? I'm 5'5" and my hands and feet are bigger than my 5'6" husband. No matter my weight I've always had problems finding bracelets, watches, etc that fit my wrists. I had a quickie bone scan of my heel last year and my bones were denser than the average 37 y/o woman. My mom was diagnosed with severe osteoperosis while pre-menopausal so I was VERY happy with my results.
Right now I feel great, I'm fine with my size, and I really don't care about my weight but I do want to look better in my clothes and build some upper body strength. I got down to a BMI of 24ish when I was in my late 20s and while I looked great my BP was way too low and just did not feel good. I figured knowing my body fat percentage would give me a good idea of my health but now I'm not so sure! We can do fairly cheap Bodpod testing through work-maybe I should just schedule an appointment and use that as my reference point.
Thanks, and any thoughts or suggestions are welcome!
Re: accuracy of body fat testing methods?
Calipers are accurate if the person is trained to use them. Did she use 3 meaurements for each site? Calipers are an approved form of body fat for high school wrestlers in Michigan. They need to have it done before the season. If they dispute it they can get the underwater test done.
The most accurate is underwater.
sorry for the random factoid
As pp said, full body submersion is the most accurate.
I would imagine that there is a great margin of error in the scale,.
I just found out via this post that my university has a BodPod and it is open to the public.
I'm scheduling an appointment for my next trip to campus. THANKS LADIES!
If you can find a Bod Pod testing site, go for that.
Dexa scan is another accurate method.
Calipers and body fat scales can be used for trending but may not be all that accurate. The scales rely on water levels in your body so things like hydration levels, time of the month, food eaten, proximity to a workout, etc. an affect them. Calipers have the human error factor and are best used for trending over time as long as the same person tests.
Boy/girl twins born at 37w1d and 37w2d