Can someone tell me the best (easiest) way to determine body fat percentage? I have one of those scales that's supposed to tell you, but the thing has a mind of it's own. I have a new weight-only scale coming tomorrow.
Should I be worried about body fat percentage at all? I guess I don't know much about it.
Unfortunately, the "best" and the "easiest" ways are not the same!
The easiest way is probably one of the body fat scales...but they don't tend to be as accurate, can react strangely depending on your amount of hydration, etc.
The "best" way is probably hydrostatic weighing, which is both expensive and not that common. It's accurate, but not a good every day choice for people.
As long as you're getting exercise, eating a healthy diet, and losing weight, it's a good bet that your body fat percentage is dropping, so I wouldn't worry too much about it.
There's two ways to measure body fat. One is a caliper test and the other is waist circumference. I like either of those better than the scale thing because I have a large chest. The scale doesn't account for large boobs but the other two tests do. You can get an estimate at freedieting.com. That estimate made me feel so much better than the fancy scale.
Waist circumference is a good measure of visceral fat—and that is quite useful for determining certain health risks—but I don't believe that it is a very accurate measure of body fat percentage. People come in all shapes and sizes. Thus, waist size alone does not provide a real indication of overall body proportion. Usually, you would need to combine this measurement with bust, hip, forearm, neck, and such measurements to improve the accuracy. Even then, this is not always one of the best ways to determine body fat percentage. Certainly, it isn't something someone with a lot of muscle would want to go by.
Body fat scales are also not too exacting, as they are affected by dehydration and muscle mass, for example. The best way to measure body fat is with calipers or by immersion in water.
Last edited by Petite Powerhouse; 01-11-2011 at 02:30 PM.
Waist circumference is a good measure of visceral fat—and that is quite useful for determining certain health risks—but I don't believe that it is a very accurate measure of body fat percentage. People come in all shapes and sizes. Waist size alone does not provide an indication of overall body proportion.
The navy uses a neck, waist and hip (for women) ratio. I like that one, but it doesn't take into account the fat in my ridiculous chest. Surely I have a higher body fat percentage than someone less well endowed than me.
I would love to believe the number from the estimate site, but it is way off. While the scales are not accurate they are closer than that.
Jesse, I am sorry, but when it comes to BF% breasts count.
The best way is either the water method or the body scan thing that you may have seen on Biggest Loser. The problem is that both of these things are expensive and it's hard to find a place that does them.
If you belong to a gym ask them if they have someone to measure for you. If not ask your doc. That still won't be as good as the expensive methods, but it will be better than a home scale. For the record, my little home scale is only off from the fancy machine at the gym by about 1.5-2%.
Jesse, I am sorry, but when it comes to BF% breasts count.
My former doctor disagrees to a point because I've already had a reduction and they don't change when I lose or gain weight. I've been a DD since my reduction and they just don't change. If I'm happier with the waist estimate, it's better for me. If I take the number on the scale I'll give up or stop eating again. I'm kind of becoming an extremist with my weight issues. Yes, I know, I need to, and am, working on it. I guess I should just not hold stock in body fat percentages because mine will always be skewed.
Some breasts are largely breast tissue. Others are largely fat. It depends.
I would guess because of the reduction and the fact that mine just don't change, I fall into the former versus the latter. As I've said before, I'm wearing two bras that I've owned since 2008 and I started this journey in Sept 2009 and they both still fit. When I replaced one in June, I bought the exact same size/brand and it fit perfectly. I would guess if they were fatty, I'd have lost them as consistently as I've lost inches around my waist and hips.
Fat tissue is fat tissue. It is not a question of it being a good thing or a bad thing. We have to have a certain level of it to live, and that level varies between people. Body Fat % is not a judgment thing, it is simply raw data. When measuring it, every fat cell counts. The thing about large breasts is that if a woman is very large breasted (and it is not solely due to being extremely overweight) then docs will tell you that she can be healthy at a higher BF% than a smaller breasted woman. However, the fat tissue in the breasts still counts as body fat. I understand the frustration. I am large breasted too. At one point as a teen I got down to a size 3 (for a very short time) and I was still a DD.
The breasts being a mix of fat tissue and other tissue is true of course, but the fat tissue in breasts still counts as body fat. I would think that if your breasts are less fatty (and if they don't change much then they very well may be) that they wouldn't skew the machines much anyhow.
I personally think that each individual should always use whatever measurements and tracking items keep them encouraged and moving in the right direction. If BF% doesn't do it for you then use other things. Waist/Hip ratio is a really good one to use, especially for women, especially if you are at all concerned about heart issues. I personally track as many things as I can. I figure that if I am not currently seeing success with one thing then maybe I'll see it somewhere else and therefore not get discouraged.
Not sure about the accuracy of the freedieting.com test or any tape measuring tests. It say's I'm 28.5% and other tests put me at anywhere from27.5% all the way up to 42.3% it entirely depends on what method you use. If I were you I would just try not to worry about it too much.
Body Fat Percentage
