Best way to measure BF??

JCalvin619

New member
Any ideas on the best way to measure body fat at home? I know there are formulas using the measurements of waste, neck, etc. What are they? Still an amatuer trying to learn....thanx
 
at home, you have to use a caliper.

to get the real bodyfat, you can take the weight under water... but who wants to do this.

you can also send an electrical signal through the body... still :)

you can look at a table like this one to get an idea:
*General Body Fat Percentage Categories
Classification Women (% fat) Men (% fat)
Essential Fat 10-12% 2-4%
Athletes 14-20% 6-13%
Fitness 21-24% 14-17%
Acceptable 25-31% 18-25%
Obese 32% plus 25% plus


I was wondering something related to this subject:
anyone has pictures of people at different known bodyfat % ?
I mean, we could build visual references - this guy is a 8% look how you see his midsection, this guy at 20%, got love handles, etc. etc.
 
Hydrostatic Weighing (Underwater Weighing) - this method of testing body fat is one of the most accurate, and the results are often easily repeatable. The test relies upon the person's ability to deplete all oxygen from the lungs while submerged in a tank of water. Some participants are unable to exhale their oxygen while submerged, and must perform the process a number of times, and a average percent is taken for the final results.

Dual energy X-ray Absorptiometyr - Another method that is extremely accurate and repeatable. This process is expensive and inconvenient for users. As a client, you will need to lay supine for 20-30 minutes while every section of your body is x-rayed. This body fat testing procedure is used mainly for research studies.

Skin Calipers - This method uses skin fold measurements to measure total body fat. Measurements are taken with a caliper at one or several body sites. The results are accurate within 6-7 percent This method of body fat testing measures subcutaneous fat only, assuming that the amount of skin fat reflects the amount of internal fat. Testing will rely on a trained and certified technician, and testing mupitle sites. This method may or may not be suitable based on obtaining repeatable results.

Bioelectrical Impedance - Measures electrical signals as they pass through body fat. A device measures the body's resistance to a low-level charge, resistance level relates to body water content as an indirect assessment of body fat lean mass. Results are accurate in the 6-7 percent range. This method of body fat testing is determined by measuring current between two electrodes and applying this information to proven scientific formulas. The measure is based on a reading of lean mass, not an estimate of fat mass.

Ultrasonic - The device used sends a sound wave down through the skin and fat to lean and dense tissues, where it bounces off and then returns to the main machine. The results and accuracy is about the same as the caliper testing method. The difference is the ultrasound information is fed in a computer, which produces a printout with information justified by the input. Infrared and Ultrasound, used in the agricultural industry to determine fat mass in homogenous samples of things like corn and grain have been reliable for that use. This method is quite useful for determining fat in the samples, but are not accurate enough to estimate fat based on one or more test sites of the body.

Near Infrared - this method is performed with a fiber optic probe that is placed on the center of the biceps of the dominant arm, measures body composition. The device used for this method of body fat testing is portable and quick to use The accuracy range has reported errors between 3-7 percent...This body composition method is relatively new and one of the newest body fat testing device on the market, this method of analysis offers a low level of accuracy.
 
StoneColdNTO said:
Hydrostatic Weighing (Underwater Weighing) - this method of testing body fat is one of the most accurate, and the results are often easily repeatable. The test relies upon the person's ability to deplete all oxygen from the lungs while submerged in a tank of water. Some participants are unable to exhale their oxygen while submerged, and must perform the process a number of times, and a average percent is taken for the final results.

Dual energy X-ray Absorptiometyr - Another method that is extremely accurate and repeatable. This process is expensive and inconvenient for users. As a client, you will need to lay supine for 20-30 minutes while every section of your body is x-rayed. This body fat testing procedure is used mainly for research studies.

Skin Calipers - This method uses skin fold measurements to measure total body fat. Measurements are taken with a caliper at one or several body sites. The results are accurate within 6-7 percent This method of body fat testing measures subcutaneous fat only, assuming that the amount of skin fat reflects the amount of internal fat. Testing will rely on a trained and certified technician, and testing mupitle sites. This method may or may not be suitable based on obtaining repeatable results.

Bioelectrical Impedance - Measures electrical signals as they pass through body fat. A device measures the body's resistance to a low-level charge, resistance level relates to body water content as an indirect assessment of body fat lean mass. Results are accurate in the 6-7 percent range. This method of body fat testing is determined by measuring current between two electrodes and applying this information to proven scientific formulas. The measure is based on a reading of lean mass, not an estimate of fat mass.

Ultrasonic - The device used sends a sound wave down through the skin and fat to lean and dense tissues, where it bounces off and then returns to the main machine. The results and accuracy is about the same as the caliper testing method. The difference is the ultrasound information is fed in a computer, which produces a printout with information justified by the input. Infrared and Ultrasound, used in the agricultural industry to determine fat mass in homogenous samples of things like corn and grain have been reliable for that use. This method is quite useful for determining fat in the samples, but are not accurate enough to estimate fat based on one or more test sites of the body.

Near Infrared - this method is performed with a fiber optic probe that is placed on the center of the biceps of the dominant arm, measures body composition. The device used for this method of body fat testing is portable and quick to use The accuracy range has reported errors between 3-7 percent...This body composition method is relatively new and one of the newest body fat testing device on the market, this method of analysis offers a low level of accuracy.
dang SC you been studying under hhajdo ;) , pretty much explains it all good post bro
 
Killer! Thanx for the posts guys, time for me to invest in a caliper. Im in the AF and all they do is take the measurement of your waist and subtract your neck measurement, I didnt think that was right. And then they have a table with height vs weight, but musce weighs more than fat, can't blame the the AF though all they care about is if you are overweight or not. Thanx for takin the time to hook that up StoneColdNTO!
 
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