Results from portable body fat analyzers can vary depending on many factors however including the quality of the device and how hydrated you are when the measurement is taken. Accuracy can also vary depending on various factors including. Although this method is highly accurate you have to be dead in order for it to happen. Body fat scales can be an easy way to track your body fat percentage but they may not tell the complete story about your health. And experts generally agree that the accuracy of the measurement depends in part on the quality of the device. Most body water is stored in muscle.
Handheld body fat monitors measure body fat by a process called bioelectrical impedance analysis or bia. Limited information is available but some 3 d scanners may be fairly accurate with errors of around 4 body fat. No body fat test be it body fat percentage scales dexa or skinfold calipers can accurately measure how much fat you have. According to the american college of sports medicine bia measures body fat with the same accuracy as skin fold calipers trailing only hydrostatic weighing for accuracy. Bioelectrical impedance analysis bia is a commonly used method for estimating body composition in particular body fat and muscle massin bia a weak electric current flows through the body and the voltage is measured in order to calculate impedance resistance of the body. Here is a video showing how a 3 d body scanner works.
The only way to measure your body fat is to have it stripped out placed on a scale and weighed. Some studies published in 2015 showed that bioelectrical impedance analysis is a fairly accurate method for estimating body fat. But these research studies generally do not test the scales you find in the store. If youre concerned about your body fat percentage skip the commercially available body fat analyzers and ask your doctor about the use of more accurate measurement techniques. The most reliable method of measuring body fat in highly trained athletes is to measure skinfold thickness and compare the average of readings taken at 6 to 8 different places on the body to.
Gallery of Electric Body Fat Measurement Accuracy
