How to Measure Body Fat

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When I wrote about ways to measure your body, I got a question about how one goes about measuring body fat. I wrote to the person who left the comment, but it makes sense to cover the topic for everyone’s benefit.

One of the best ways to measure fat is through hydrostatic weighing. In short you dunk yourself in a tank of water and some smart people perform some calculations. I really don’t know too much of the science of it, except that it’s accurate and it’s more effort than a Lazy Man like me wants to go through. Since this costs money every time you want to do it, this article is a good start.

Another option is the caliper test. This is a device that you use to pinch your fat and measure how much you can grab. It can take a bit of practice to get good at performing a accurate test on yourself. If you want to invest the time why not try these for around $5?

I have a Tanita Body Fat Scale. The one I have measures to the closest half of a percent. However, just because the scale goes to that level of precision doesn’t mean it’s that accurate. One thing that I like about it is that it’s pretty much as easy as stepping on a scale.

I also have a Omron Handheld Fat Loss Monitor. I’ve found this gives me a different result than the Tanita scale, but it seems consistently different. Often it’s about 3% less. This is even easier than the Tanita scale. You just pick up, press a couple of buttons and 5 seconds later you have your reading.

It might be overkill to have both. I figure one measures the fat stores in the lower part of my body. The other does the upper part of your body. I average the two to come up with what I feel must be close to accurate measurement. Even if it’s not accurate, all that really matters to me is the relative numbers and week to week improvement.

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Posted by Lazy Man on December 20, 2007 in Tools.

2 Responses to “How to Measure Body Fat”

Blubba Says:
December 31st, 2007 at 7:42 pm
Wow, freaky deja vu. I’ve been going through a similar process regarding BMI and, unfortunately for me, my Tanita isn’t cutting it with my current weight. How is the Omron? I’m thinking about getting one.
deepali Says:
January 3rd, 2008 at 4:14 pm
I find it interesting that you have two BIA devices that give you different results. I’m curious to know if the algorithms are different, or if has to do with the way the pulses are conducted (ie, through hands vs feet). I imagine the Omron is less because you are male and would have more FFM/TBW in your upper body…