Do body fat % calculators work?
I purchased a little hand held body fat % calculator for about $15 from shopko and I was wondering how they work? All I do is hold onto two metal parts with my fingers. Does it matter if you are wearing clothing or not? and are the results accurate?
Public Comments
- the mini ones arent always very good. if you have a gym membership they should be able to measure it for you for free. it only takes 5 min. the clothing your wearing shouldnt matter since its based on body wieght. it doesnt sound like it would work to well since BMI is calcuated using body weight, height
- I don't see how they can be, altho I have clients who use them in their doctor's office. I just don't see how they can be accurate. I like the caliper better, pinching the fat and measuring it seems to be pretty accurate, but hey, that's just me, maybe that little gadget will work fine for you. Our club bought one too.
- I have a body fat scale by Tanita (a lot more expensive that your $15 gizmo). I have no way of knowing how accurate it is, but it is consistent and reasonable. If I diet, my body fat % goes down. If I pig out, it goes up. I like it a lot. You have to stand on it with bare feet, just as I'm sure you put two bare fingers on your gizmo.
- Wearing clothes wont affect the outcome and the results are usually pretty accurate. They work by sending an electrical current through your body; fat doesnt carry an electrical current very well so the body fat percentage calculator uses that to come up with the percentage. Im not sure exactly how it works but thats the basis of it. Dont forget that theres a healthy body fat percentage and that calculator counts all the fat in your body from the fat behind your eyes to the fatty mesentary that holds together your intestines. So dont freak out if its 25% because for women healthy percentages range from like 15 to 22 or something. Hope I helped!
- the more places you test.. the more accurate the result.. it is all an average in the end.. test with the body part relaxed.. like putting your leg up on a chair to test the calf.. or letting your arm hang slightly bent at the elbow to measure behind your tricep (back of arm) .. and so on.. bare skin .. I am not familiar with that type of instrument .. I used a caliper type one .. the one that pinches lightly and has the numbers in a rounded arc.. they are much more accurate.. and cost maybe $40-50 for a good one.. much more for a great one
- I do not know how accurate they are but, I do use them for a starting point with my clients. If you start out at 15% bodyfat and you take it again with the same machine (with good batteries) and it is less it is a pretty good indication that you have lost some body fat but I rely on measuring tape but you also have human error there as well.
