How do you find your body % fat?

[LaxDemon1]

How do you find out what % of body fat you have? I really would like to find out, do I have to see a doctor or...?

 

[abear]

if you have a gym nearby you could try over there. or you could get a pair of cheap calipers and do it yourself.

 

[Slapsie Maxie]

First post

Most gyms have fat % calibrating machines that involve attaching a pad to a finger and one toe and running a small current through you ( you don't feel anything ) It measures your fat against the resistance to the current .

it is much more accurate than the old caliper method.

I am currently at 15 % which I would like to reduce to 12%

Slapsie

 

[malkore]

First post

Most gyms have fat % calibrating machines that involve attaching a pad to a finger and one toe and running a small current through you ( you don't feel anything ) It measures your fat against the resistance to the current .

it is much more accurate than the old caliper method.

I am currently at 15 % which I would like to reduce to 12%

Slapsie

this couldn't be further from the truth. Bio-impedience tests like this, or the Tanita brand of scales, are less accurate than 4 point caliper tests. The amount of fluid in your body can greatly skew these types of tests. I could get on my Tanita scale at 7am, and it'll show 18% bodyfat (when I've been starved of water for 8 hours). If i get on at 6pm, when my body's hydrated from 11 hours of drinking water, I'll test at 15% bodyfat - which is probably with .5% of what a 4-point caliper test would show.

 

[stalefish]

what about bodyfat scales ... such as ones that can measure weight, bodyfat and water levels in your body?

suppose to be .1 incriments.

 

[abear]

ppl have posted they are highly inaccurate. never tried one myself

 

[rip]

Check this out:


Here is what he says about BIA (BIOELECTRICAL IMPEDANCE ANALYSIS) tests...

A person’s hydration level and blood circulation may also have an effect on the body fat reading. Therefore, the best times to use a BIA scale are 1 to 2 hours after a meal. The BIA scale should not be used immediately after exercise, after a bath or sauna, after drinking alcohol or after drinking water and/or eating a meal. The fluctuation in the reading may be as high as 7% error. It is the opinion of this author that caliper measurements are still superior to current BIA technology.​