Recommendations/Reviews/FS/WTB Body fat measurement device
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Products recommendations and reviews, items For Sale or Wanted To Buy
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Halfakneecap
Level 6 Valued Member
I use a mirror, or judge by the way my wife looks at me.
Kenny Croxdale
Level 7 Valued Member
Body Composition Assessments are Less Useful Than You Thin
Other/Mixed - Body Composition Assessments are Less Useful Than You Think
Body Composition Assessments are Less Useful Than You Think The first thing to know is that there’s no way of measuring body composition in living, breathing humans. There is exactly one way to measure body composition: carefully dissecting a cadaver, and weighing each component of the cadaver...
www.strongfirst.com
Or Tape Measure
BIA (bioelectrical impedance) is the only real affordable way of doing it at home other than calipers. There are a couple different types of bioelectrical, and they're all notoriously inaccurate and imprecise. You can significantly improve precision by having a pre-measure routine the night before and doing it first thing in the morning; it doesn't improve accuracy (true-to-life), it only improves precision (you'll see trends as you go up or down in bodyfat).
This means careful use of bioelectrical devices can help you see how your bodyfat is responding to your actions, without being "absolutely true" in regards to the number, e.g. if it shows your bodyfat went down from 25% to 20%, you can know pretty well that you DID lose bodyfat, but it doesn't actually mean you were at 25% or are currently at 20%.
Two questions, that you don't necessarily have to reply to with answers, just to think about:
1. Why do you want to measure bodyfat?
2. How will knowing your BF% cause you to adjust what you're doing moreso than the "eyeball test," the scale, or simple circumference measurements?
This means careful use of bioelectrical devices can help you see how your bodyfat is responding to your actions, without being "absolutely true" in regards to the number, e.g. if it shows your bodyfat went down from 25% to 20%, you can know pretty well that you DID lose bodyfat, but it doesn't actually mean you were at 25% or are currently at 20%.
Two questions, that you don't necessarily have to reply to with answers, just to think about:
1. Why do you want to measure bodyfat?
2. How will knowing your BF% cause you to adjust what you're doing moreso than the "eyeball test," the scale, or simple circumference measurements?
Erik W
Level 6 Valued Member
I used to use a handheld body fat monitor (one of the electrical-impedance gadgets), but I've backed off to just measuring my weight and waist circumference. An article on this topic came out recently on Stronger By Science:
www.strongerbyscience.com
How to effectively track changes in body composition • Stronger by Science
A recent study by Tinsley et al investigated methods of tracking changes in body composition in 19 subjects who were trying to gain weight.
www.strongerbyscience.com
SamTX
Level 5 Valued Member
I would like a number to show that what I am doing is working.
How will that number cause you to adjust what you're doing? Does the scale or a circumference not seem to be changing despite feeling like what you're doing is working?
LukeV
Level 7 Valued Member
A decent set of bio impedance scales will work for that. Take your measurement every day under the same conditions (I do first thing in the morning after I’ve been to the toilet and before drinking or eating) and don’t rely on any day’s result but take a rolling seven day average. That will tell you up, down or no change pretty reliably
silveraw
Level 9 Valued Member
Waist to height measurment is a solid indicator to keep track of.
Else if you want more granular you can use Tim Ferriss's "Total Inches" from his 4 hour body book. Basically add up the inches of your arm, waist, chest, hips, mid thigh. Track it over time
To convert to metric use metric.
I'd stay away from any at home bodyfat measurement device. They will swing a lot and aren't anywhere near consistent enough to track progress.
Else if you want more granular you can use Tim Ferriss's "Total Inches" from his 4 hour body book. Basically add up the inches of your arm, waist, chest, hips, mid thigh. Track it over time
To convert to metric use metric.
I'd stay away from any at home bodyfat measurement device. They will swing a lot and aren't anywhere near consistent enough to track progress.
silveraw
Level 9 Valued Member
Debatably the P ratio, the ratio between lean muscle and bodyfat gained. Muscle gains decrease at higher bodyfat percentages due to insulin resistance... debatably.
Should You Cut Before You Bulk?: How Body-Fat Levels Affect Your P-Ratio
Do you have to get lean before bulking to gain muscle efficiently? The evidence is surprisingly shaky. Here's what the science really says.
www.strongerbyscience.com
Then there is also just general health as excess body fat causes a lot of health issues. Some IF dieters (and other dieters as well, but IF seemed pronounced) who don't do resistance exercise and drop weight will end up metabolically worse off as their body fat increases and lean tissue decreases. (don't have the study, but heard it from the Peter Attia Tim Ferriss Q&A from a couple years ago)
Although in both cases, high accuracy isn't necessary to get actionable data. But accurate enough and reliable is important.
BillSteamshovel
Level 6 Valued Member
You can get cheap calipers on internet for $5. They will give you numbers to compare over time and if you use them the same way in the same spots you will easily see the relative difference without getting too hung up on calculating %ages. I use combination of mirror, scales and less frequently the cheap calipers for some "hard" numbers
offwidth
Level 10 Valued Member
Yeah… obviously excess fat can be both a health and a performance issue, but the point I was (maybe obliquely) making, is that for most purposes the mirror and maybe tape measure are going to be accurate enough. (i.e. actionable data) What quantifiable health or performance improvements can be garnered from going from say… 15% to 12% body fat for example.Debatably the P ratio, the ratio between lean muscle and bodyfat gained. Muscle gains decrease at higher bodyfat percentages due to insulin resistance... debatably.
Should You Cut Before You Bulk?: How Body-Fat Levels Affect Your P-Ratio
Do you have to get lean before bulking to gain muscle efficiently? The evidence is surprisingly shaky. Here's what the science really says.
Then there is also just general health as excess body fat causes a lot of health issues. Some IF dieters (and other dieters as well, but IF seemed pronounced) who don't do resistance exercise and drop weight will end up metabolically worse off as their body fat increases and lean tissue decreases. (don't have the study, but heard it from the Peter Attia Tim Ferriss Q&A from a couple years ago)
Although in both cases, high accuracy isn't necessary to get actionable data. But accurate enough and reliable is important.
silveraw
Level 9 Valued Member
I'm dense....
Little to none. Pretty much the only reason to get a dexa is for doing research studies where accuracy matters. Although I don't complain about people paying universities to use them to offset the cost for said studies.
This caliper is good. I have it and find it to work extremely well. Basically it comes with a chart an instructions on where to measure. For men, the upper outer pec area, the abdomen just lateral to the umbilicus, and the anterior thigh. You add the 3 measurements up, in mm, and check the chart and your age for your estimated body fat.
The tricky part is getting accurate measurements to measure your trends. You will have questions about how to accurately measure yourself without a helper, how much skin to grab, etc. to get reproducible results. But with a little practice I think I've gotten pretty reliable. It helps to do 3 separate measurements the same day and average the results.
This will be your cheapest option, and likely not any less accurate than other options short of DXA measurement.
Speaking of that, you can get DXA scans for less than 100 bucks. If you want to do that yearly to track your results, that may be affordable and worth it to you.
I also agree with other comments that the eyeball test comparing examples of pictures vs you in the mirror are pretty accurate. So before/after photos are probably also helpful to monitor progress to.
The tricky part is getting accurate measurements to measure your trends. You will have questions about how to accurately measure yourself without a helper, how much skin to grab, etc. to get reproducible results. But with a little practice I think I've gotten pretty reliable. It helps to do 3 separate measurements the same day and average the results.
This will be your cheapest option, and likely not any less accurate than other options short of DXA measurement.
Speaking of that, you can get DXA scans for less than 100 bucks. If you want to do that yearly to track your results, that may be affordable and worth it to you.
I also agree with other comments that the eyeball test comparing examples of pictures vs you in the mirror are pretty accurate. So before/after photos are probably also helpful to monitor progress to.
Kenny Croxdale
Level 7 Valued Member
Good Caliper
Yes, this is a pretty good caliper for the price.
A Good Technicial
A Good Technician that has calipered hundreds of individual can obtain a fairly accurate reading.
Test Sites
To obain the most consistent and accurate reading, you need a pen and a tape measure.
How And Why To Measure Your Body Fat Percentage
How And Why To Measure Your Body Fat Percentage
Knowing your body fat percentage can help you track your progress toward your fitness goals. Here's how you can measure it at home.
www.bodybuilding.com
Information in this article defines how to determine the right spot to measure each time.
To ensure the right spot is measured each time, you need a tape measure to point it.
You need a pen to then mark it the spot.
Caliper Reliability
The foundation of this method of determine body fat percentages is based off dissecting five cadavers.
Obviouly none of these individual were normal, heathy individual; which is an issue.
Law Of Large Numbers
The larger the number of individual in a study, the greater the accuracy.
Measuring five cadavers is an incrediblythe low number; which mean the accuracy of it is questionable.
There is also the issue with determing the body fat percentages of different ethnic groups...
Measures of body composition in blacks and whites: a comparative review
Measures of body composition in blacks and whites: a comparative review
ABSTRACT. Biological differences exist in the body composition of blacks and whites. We reviewed literature on the differences and similarities between the 2 ra
academic.oup.com
ABSTRACT
Biological differences exist in the body composition of blacks and whites. We reviewed literature on the differences and similarities between the 2 races relative to fat-free body mass (water, mineral, and protein), fat patterning, and body dimensions and proportions. In general, blacks have a greater bone mineral density and body protein content than do whites, resulting in a greater fat-free body density. Additionally, there are racial differences in the distribution of subcutaneous fat and the length of the limbs relative to the trunk. The possibility that these differences are a result of ethnicity rather than of race is also examined. Because most equations that predict relative body fat were derived from predominantly white samples, biological variation between the races in these body-composition indexes has practical significance. Systematic error can result in the inaccurate estimation of the relative body fat of blacks, and therefore of definitions of obesity, if these inherent differences are ignored.
For additional inforamation...
Post 22
Other/Mixed - Body Composition Assessments are Less Useful Than You Think
At the NBA draft combine, they do bodyfat % testing. I'm not sure what method they use, but I'm highly dubious about its accuracy. In 2019, Oshae Brisset was measured at 2.9%, and there were 20 players under 5%. This year, there was one player who measured at 2.7% and there were lots of sub 4%...
www.strongfirst.com
Kenny Croxdale
Level 7 Valued Member
Bingo!
The mirror and tape measure are effective.
Big Fat Lies
Dr Glenn Gaessner
In other word, don't judge the book nor the individual by the cover.
Being thin doesn't necessarily mean you are healthy nor does being over weight mean you are not healthy.
Gaessner breaks it down in...
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