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Body Fat Measures

355 bytes removed, 21:23, 7 August 2011
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Body Fat MeasuresThis Measuring your body fat is a comparison an important way of the ways that body fat can be measuredevaluating your diet and your training. No technique is accurate and all approaches are estimates based on indirect measures. None However, there are a number of the cost effective and practical approaches is perfect, but they you can be usefuluse.
==Skinfold Calipers==
These are cheap (''Main article: [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000G7YW74 $6[Skinfold Calipers]]), but tricky to use accurately. I have several of these calipers and each one requires different pressure to 'click' and record the skinfold. This difference in pressure can make a big difference in the skinfold measurement. Also, slight changes in location of the measurement can make a big difference to the reading, so practice is required to get the same spot each time. With lower levels of body fat, the resolution of the calipers is a problem. The calipers only measure the fat under the skin, and at a few locations. There is significant person to person variation in fat distribution through the body, limiting the accuracy even with expert usage. The two big advantages of calipers are that they are cheap, and they measure the body fat directly.  http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31c6Xo-ic3L._SS500_.jpg
This is the cheapest way of getting a viable estimate of your own body fat. The calipers are extremely cheap ($5 from Amazon.com) and directly measure your body fat. They do require some practice to get repeatable results, but the price, performance and convenience makes them an ideal starting point.
[[File:Skinfold-4.jpg|none|thumb|250px|Accu-measure calipers in action]]
==Body Fat Scales==
These Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA) scales use an imperceptible electrical signal to calculate the amount of water in the body. From this Total Body Water (TBW), it is possible to estimate body fat. This makes these scales quick and easy to use, but their accuracy is quite poor. The level of hydration has a significant impact on the reading, so readings need to be taken at the same time of day with the same level of hydration. The [[Book Review - The 4 Hour Body|4 Hour Body]] recommend drinking 1.5 liters (3 pints) of water, waiting 30 minutes, urinating and then taking a measurement. The biggest problem for an athlete is that BIA is particularly inaccurate when fat free mass, including glycogen, changes<ref name="BIA1"/><ref name="BIA2"/>. I've noticed that the day after a long run, the scales claim a much larger loss of body fat than is reasonable.
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