My school was doing free body fat testing today; the lady doing it used a device that I had to hold at arms length for about 10 seconds, seemed similar to the body fat scales just no scale involved. Anyway does anyone know how much these things are usually off by? It told me I was 13%. Thanks.
It was probably a bio-impedance thingy.
They’re okay, but don’t work as good for skinny ppl. If it told you that you were 13% and you can see your abs, then it’s probably accurate.
I have the hand-held Omron version, which I’m starting to doubt the reliablility of. I’ve been using it for the past 10 weeks of dieting and it says I have only lost about 2% BF (about a 6 pound fat loss), yet I have lost 4 inches in my waist, 2-3 inches per thigh, and got a lot more vascular. I know I have at least lost 12, if not 15 pounds of fat. I think they can vary wildly, as I have seen readings from 20% to 18% all within a day or two. And, I measure it at the same time of day at approx. the same hydration levels…?!
I think I’m going to have to breakdown and do the multiple site skin-fold testing as I’m really losing confidence in these BIA devices. I think the skin-fold would be much more accurate when doing the 7 or 11 site method. And, unless it’s extreme, hydration levels have a lesser effect on the readings.
TS