Originally posted by Wmarden
BTW those BF scales are worthless. I used one that once measured me at about 35 percent bodyfat. I was maybe at 17-20% at the time.
Every measurement technique has an inherent problem. With the calipers, you have to measure a lot of sites, many of them you can't do yourself. You also have to know how to do the measurement or you'll get very erroneous readings.
The immersion technique is said to be the most accurate, but has the problem in that you have to find a place to do it and you have to exhale *all* of the air out of your lungs as you go under. That is very hard for many, if not most people.
The models that use bioelectrical impedence has a problem in that they rely on you being properly hydrated. If not, you're body fat reading will be higher (never seen one that far off the mark though). Most of the studies I've seen have rated the impedence models with an accuracy of 2-4%. My model works fine.
The basic point is, no matter which method you use, make sure you're using it correctly and use it to measure changes in the value, rather than depending on the specific value itself.
The BMI reading that most web sites give you are very generalized and don't work well for any athlete, just as the standard charts that the doctors and insurance companies use don't. Large, muscular people are recorded as obese using these methods because their weight is so high. It's not just a matter of height and weight or measurements of your limbs. It's a matter of how much lean weight you have (muscles, bones, etc) and how much fat you have. Only direct measurements on your body will give you any accuracy.
WhiteBirch
