Bodyfat % and acumeasure calipers

[Tier]

I have those accumeasure calipers that *click* when ure trying to find ya bf% etc

anyways they say im about 10% , just wondering if there are any typical characteristics of different bf%'s that people come in at naturally.

Just to save me going to pay $10 to get it electronically done.


Basically trying to see if they are acurate or not. Anyone else use these calipers for bf%?

[smaul]

havent used them but if you post a pic we should be able to tell you if they're accurate-ish

[Tier]

Thankyou for that , i totally agree on the trends thing , its just to make sure i wasnt wasting my time with the results i was getting

cheers 

[Herc]

I get mine checked at the gym about once a month.  Ive gotten a fluctuation of about 2 or 3 percent.  One lady does it and she always gets a higher percentage around 10 or so although this is consistent each time.  Other people consistently get 7 or 8 so I figure im somewhere between 7 and 10 which I guess is close enough since im not into bodybuilding or anything that would require me to go any lower.

[MCWAY]

I used them for about a year and compared the results to electrical impedance multiple times.  Very close correlation - within 1/100th of a percentage point sometimes, usually within 1 % point using 3 point measurement.  They seemed most accurate around 10% BF. 

I also used them on several females and the comparison with EI was way off - 4-5 percentage points between the 2 measurements. I attributed this to the different fat distribution patterns in women - much thicker thigh fat compared to abdominal fat vs. men.  Maybe females need to use the 7 point measurement, or maybe the algorithm doesn't work well for them.

I found them most useful in measuring lean body mass changes as fat mass went down on a high protein/low carb diet.  A lot of this depends on state of hydration, but if I was well hydrated and LBM went down and I got weaker, I attributed this to actual muscle loss from not taking in enough calories.  The grafts from the software were very interesting in this regard and it really hit home how much more useful knowing body composition is compared to just weight on a scale.

Also it proved to me that it is possible to lose fat and gain muscle at the same time.  I usually gained around 1 pound of muscle for every 2 pounds of body fat loss.  This required consistent hard workouts and a strict diet and was quiet exhausting.  After 4-6 months I plateaued and got over trained.  I took a month off lifting then and my LBM went down, fat mass stayed the same and I lost a lot of weight on the scale.  I guess I got very catabolic.  I ate a lot of carbs/calories during this time but my fat mass and weight didn't go up until I started lifting again and got anabolic.

After multiple measurements over a year, I can pretty much tell my % body fat within 1% point just by the thickness of the abdominal fat fold and so don't take measurements much anymore.

It seems like a useful tool that will get you in the ball park and measure trends.  To me trends are more important than knowing the exact BF %.  I think at extremes of BF, say above 20%,  the measurements become less accurate. 

Has anybody used the "tape" method, that is used in the military?

[MCWAY]

I have those accumeasure calipers that *click* when ure trying to find ya bf% etc

anyways they say im about 10% , just wondering if there are any typical characteristics of different bf%'s that people come in at naturally.

Just to save me going to pay $10 to get it electronically done.


Basically trying to see if they are acurate or not. Anyone else use these calipers for bf%?

Don't certain gyms do it upon request? I think Bally does.

[Tier]

not at the ymca in new zealand 

[MCWAY]

Perhaps, using the "tape" method that the U.S. military does for its servicemembers would be more convenient. It's also known as the circumference method.

Here's a link to one such site:

http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/library/blbodyfatcalculator.htm


Body-Fat Procedures

The Department of Defense formula to compute body-fat percentage is somewhat complicated. For males, the formula is % body fat = 86.010 x log10(abdomen - neck) - 70.041 x log10(height) + 36.76, and for females, the formula is % body fat = 163.205 x log10(waist + hip - neck) - 97.684 x log10(height) - 78.387.

However, you don't have to worry about that, as DOD has prepared charts, based on the above formula (see below), that one can use to look up their body-fat percentage, after taking the proper measurements.

Measurements (Male)

Abdomen. Measure abdominal circumference against the skin at the navel (belly button), level and parallel to the floor. Arms are at the sides. Record the measurement at the end of member's normal, relaxed exhalation. Round abdominal measurement down to the nearest ½ inch.

Neck. Measure the neck circumference at a point just below the larynx (Adam's Apple) and perpendicular to the long axis of the neck. Do not place the tape measure over the Adam's Apple. Service member should look straight ahead during measurement, with shoulders down (not hunched). The tape will be as close to horizontal as anatomically feasible (the tape line in the front of the neck should be at the same height as the tape line in the back of the neck). Care should be taken so as not to involve the shoulder/neck muscles (trapezius) in the measurement. Round neck measurement up to the nearest ½ inch.

Subract the neck measurement from the abdomen measurement, then look up the results on the following charts:

60.0 to 64.5 Inches Tall
65.0 to 69.5 Inches Tall
70.0 to 74.5 Inches Tall
75.0 to 79.5 Inches Tall


Here's the link:

http://usmilitary.about.com/od/theorderlyroom/a/bodyfat.htm

The following link talks about the accuracy of this method and formula, as opposed to other bodyfat measurement methods:

http://www.nhrc.navy.mil/programs/BodyFat/index.html

[MCWAY]

Here's another site, where you can simply input your numbers for a bodyfat estimate:

http://www.he.net/~zone/prothd2.html