Question about BF%

[knuckleboy21]

What is the best way for me to find out what my BF% is?
Whats most accurate?
Thanks
KnuckleBoy

[YellowJacket]

Underwater weighing.

[Face]

Most affordably accurate = Calipers

[Stonecold54]

Don't worry about it, none of the methods are really that good...just use the mirror and photos in a progressive way.

[shortz]

^^^I agree. You can use calipers to moniter for slight changes in diet, but the mirror works best IMO.

[BBAddict]

I think the Tanita scales are the most accurate way to go. :D

[hlcn8]

There are lots of ways, but some of them are expensive. Skin fold testing using calipers is probably the easiest, but results will vary by tester (everyone has a slightly different area from which they pinch the fat), level of hydration, etc.
Hydrostatic weighing is considered 'the gold standard' from everything i've read, but can be expensive, and it's hard to find a facility that will do it for you. It's considered the most accurate, but can still be offset by levels of hydration, and air left in your lungs when you submerge, etc.
BodPods are supposed to measure the displacement of air while you sit in a cuccoon like enclosure, but you won't find them in many places, they're still more expensive, and I haven't heard much regarding their accuracy.
There are the electrical impedance scales as well, reports I've heard vary significantly on them though, once you buy it you can re-use it again and again, but i'm not sure about its accuracy.
Many dr.'s are now saying to just check your waist size. The fat there is supposedly a rather good indication of your overall weight loss. How you interpret that though is somewhat confusing.
And then there's the mirror, you probably already have one, and you can use it anytime!
Regardless, once you start losing weight and notice a trend, it doesn't matter how far you go down in percentage points so long as you set yourself attainable goals. Sit down and tell yourself "I want to be able to see more definition in my shoulders, arms and abs," and monitor your progress through whatever form you choose. It's a progression, don't get caught up in the technical subtleties when you should be making changes to your lifeSTYLE that will be permanent!

[shortz]

Originally posted by hlcn8

Many dr.'s are now saying to just check your waist size.

Too bad they are still depending on BMI though. Waist line is not what they look for when avaluating a patient for over all health.

[Stonecold54]

if you really want a true measurment the use this...http://www.bioanalogics.com/


as far as the "other methods" the method could be right but the calculations and math in the actual conversion are faulty (even for hydrostatic which has many flaws as well)...