Body Fat by Bioelectrical Impedence

[Jane]

I was thinking of buying one of those scales that shoot electric pulses through your body and give an approximate body fat % based on the fat/muscle they encounter.

I know they aren't very accurate, but if I did it on a weekly basis, I could still track at least an approximate direction of my body fat number, right? So even if the # is a little off, seeing it go down would be a good thing

A good investment? Anyone have one? What kinds of things affect the reading?

 

[nikegurl]

hydration is a HUGE factor! i have one and don't rely on the number but use it like you said to track progress (see the number going down)

i use it the same time of day always. if you are dehydrated even a little the reading will be higher. they are notoriously inaccurate and i doubt i'd buy it again. but since i have it....i use it once or twice a week at the same time of day to see the number dropping.

 

[Twin Peak]

same as Nike; its fun more than valuable. But mine (tanita) is at least consistent.

 

[ponyboy]

You can also alter the number it gives you by holding your arms out straight and then holding it closer to your body...usually affects the number by 2-3%. Generally those machines are off by about 5% either way, but like has been said previously, if you measure yourself at the same time (I'd recommend 1st thing in the morning before you drink anything) it should provide a reasonably accurate tracking measure.

 

[nikegurl]

i could be wrong....but i think they tend to be more consistent for men. maybe women's fluid levels fluctuate more? not sure. i know several people with the tanita i have and all the men see more consistent readings than the women.

hardly scientific - just an observation

 

[Jane]

what constitutes an "extremely fit adult"?

Should I go for the Tanita with one adult mode, or the one for both regular and athelete mode?

At 17, am I a child or an adult?

 

[nikegurl]

tanita defines athlete based on aerobic conditioning. i can check and let you know tomorrow (but i bet someone else will know right away)

i do know if i chose adult instead of athlete i get a higher reading. (so of course i choose athlete lol)

 

[nemodynamite]

You can test at different levels every couple of days. There are so many factors that influence those readings. I've learned not to put a whole lot of faith in the electrical testers.

 

[LAM]

I'm not sure of the manufacture but there are some scales that can be calibrated to known settings. That way you can get test with calipers and at least be able to track your progress more accurately. Scales made by Tanita and other companies are notorious for being inaccurate.

 

[Jane]

what do you mean by "known settings"?

 

[LAM]

your bf% done by caliper readings or another method (hydrostatic etc).

 

[Jane]

Well I just ordered the Tanita scale from Amazon...regular adult and athlete mode. Thanks for everyone's input!
I hope to use it just to have SOME sort of regular tracking.

 

[Stickboy]

I have one (Tanita), and I like it. As others have said, it's not that accurate, but it is consisent (It's a toy, and yes, it's fun to play around with ). I find it does measure wieght accurately.

On the other hand.....calipers are only accurate if you or the person doing it does it properly. The water tank is the way to go, at least to get a baseline (It ain't cheap around these parts).

 

[Robboe]

Those scales are awful.

 

[KryptoAllez]

Originally posted by The_Chicken_Daddy
Those scales are awful.

I agree. My Tanita scales, even on the athlete mode, has NEVER ever read me any lower than 18% body fat and most of the time it reads me at 20% even though I caliper out at 15% body fat. So now I don't even use it for body fat readings at all. I use the mirror and calipers for body fat and I use the Tanita scale only for my weight, which never changes much anyway. I practically don't even have a use for the stupid thing anymore.

 

[nikegurl]

very true about the calipers. i didn't realize until i moved that it isn't easy to get that done right either. the guy at my lame gym told me i was 26%. there is no way on this earth i'm even as high as 20%. seriously. so that can be way off too if they don't know what they are doing.

 

[Mudge]

I thought I remembered these as not being accurate, due to various body impedances etc