Body composition testing or body fat testing measures the amount of body fat and fat free mass also referred to as lean tissue muscle mass body water bone and organs in the body. One of the devices doctors or personal trainers routinely use is a handheld bmi machine.
How To Measure Body Fat Accurate Methods And Ranges
What is the machine called that measures body fat. Although the technology is improving its hard to get an accurate body fat measurement from most available commercial body fat analyzers. The chart below shows the average body fat percentages of americans from samples between 19992004. Body fat scales use technology called bioelectrical impedance analysis bia. They then compared these results with the data that they retrieved from the home use bia. The tanita made famous by the biggest loser is a body fat percentage scale that uses bioelectrical impedance bia to gauge the amount of lean mass water and fat in your body by sending a current from the metal plates under your feet through your body and timing how long it takes. Higher levels of body fat may be dangerous for you.
In this article we describe the range of methods include those that a person can try at home. While this method for measuring body fat is a relatively cheap optionyou can find scales like this one for. First the researchers used a lab based machine called a bod pod to take accurate body fat measurements. Dexa dxa scan bod pod test underwater weighing calipers and bathroom scales. There are various ways to measure the percentage of body fat and some are more high tech than others. Hydrostatic weighing and other high tech machines are expensive and almost impossible for a layperson to access.
Results from portable body fat analyzers can vary though. There are also hand held devices and scales which measure body fat but these are often inaccurate. Knowing this measurement gives you an accurate picture of the progress of your fitness programs and indicates a degree of risk for diseases like cancer or diabetes. This data means that if your body fat percentage is lower than 31 for women and 24 for men you are in the average range and you have nothing to worry about. You simply step on the scale and the tool measures both your body weight and your estimated fat percentage. There are many different methods for measuring body fat but some are more accurate than others.
Various types of body fat analyzers also called impedance meters are available to the general public. When you step on the scale an electrical current passes through one leg up to the pelvis and down the other. Such scales work with the help of sensors underneath. Body fat scales are easy to use. Your body mass index or bmi is a measurement of the percentage of your body weight that is fat. There are several techniques you could use to measure body fat.
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