# % Body Fat Calculation



## NJ-Surfer (Jan 30, 2010)

I've seen over and over again people dismissing bioelectrical impedance scales (aka. Body Fat Scales) as completely worthless. Although there are obvious issues with the measurement due to hydration they can be very useful to help track your overall progress when used correctly and consistently. The great advantage of these scales is ease of use. Again, if used properly they can provide a benchmark to track progress. The assumption that the better home based measurement is body caliper can be misleading as there is inherent errors in this measurement as well. Due to significant differences in measurement techniques and skill level of the person performing the measurement the reliability of this measurement is also suspect. Another easy measurement is the YMCA method, which only requires a tape measure. There are many websites that can calcuate for you like this one: The Most Accurate Body Fat Calculator
In general however, each measurement can be used to track your progress but neither is better at quantifying your actual %BF (ie good precision, low accuracy). IMHO, pick the one that's easiest for you to use then keep your measurements consistent and you will have a good metric of your progress. 

Here some more details about the body fat measurement techniques that are available and the overall rating based on price and accuracy:


> *Experts rate the best and worst in body-fat measurement devices.*
> 
> Reviewed By Kathleen Zelman, MPH, RD, LD
> 
> ...


----------



## Malibu King (Feb 1, 2010)

Good info, thanks for the post


----------



## Jodi (Feb 1, 2010)

As I said in another thread as benchmark they are fine but if you want the closest to exact as you are going to get then hydrostatic.


----------



## danzik17 (Feb 1, 2010)

Oh well look who decided to show up.  Now don't you go running off again Jodi


----------



## danzik17 (Feb 1, 2010)

As for BF calculation, it doesn't matter unless you really want to know for some reason.

Guestimate it for the initial diet setup (minimum fats/protein).  After that, just trend the scale over the long term and use the mirror as your judge.


----------



## katt (Feb 1, 2010)

are you back for a while Jodi??


----------



## Jodi (Feb 1, 2010)

We'll see   Work has me busy.


----------

