Accuracy?

[Fat J]

I didn't know where else to put this so...

I just purchased a Tanita scale that also measures bodyfat. I weighed for the first time this morning and was 231 lb., a 4-lb loss in about 2 weeks, which sounds about right, I guess. To my shock and dismay, it had me at 37%! What the...! The last time I had my BF measure I was 24% when I was around 238; and that was with calipers. I know I have a ways to go, but dang! I definately don't look like 37%. Any thoughts?

P.S. I ordered and just received Berardi's The Metabolism Advantage. Anyone tried it?

[galya]

The Tanita is posessed. Don't sweat it.
If you can have someone do caliper testing for you (same person, same caliper), do that. If not, use the Tanita to tell you where you're going (up, down), but disregard the bf numbers.
Eventually, you will start using other methods (pictures, looking at yourself, having other look at you) to assess progress; those will make you waaay happier.
The MA has gotten great reviews, for the price, I would get it without a doubt
Good luck on your journey!

[malkore]

Tanita's are good scales.
they are marginal at bodyfat testing.
two tips:
1. test bodyfat at like, 6pm...
2. never test bodyfat when you first wake up

Tanita uses electric bio-impedance to measure bodyfat. The less hydrated you are, the crazier the bodyfat reading will be.

Its entirely normal to wake up, step on a Tanita, and get a reading of say 24%. then you come back at 6pm, nicely hydrated, and the Tanita reports 21% bodyfat (or less!).

If you keep hydration and time of day consistent, the Tanita will at least be consistent with itself, so you can track trends. Even done correctly, a Tanita is less accurate than skinfold caliper testing, which is less accurate than a hydrostatic test, or a DEXA scan.

[tkinsley]

Originally Posted by malkore

Tanita's are good scales.
they are marginal at bodyfat testing.
two tips:
1. test bodyfat at like, 6pm...
2. never test bodyfat when you first wake up

Tanita uses electric bio-impedance to measure bodyfat. The less hydrated you are, the crazier the bodyfat reading will be.

Its entirely normal to wake up, step on a Tanita, and get a reading of say 24%. then you come back at 6pm, nicely hydrated, and the Tanita reports 21% bodyfat (or less!).

You know, I have heard this from various people and sources but I have had the opposite: my BF is always LOWEST first thing in the AM and highest in the evening. IOW... YMMV

Tina

[LisaS]

when calipers and other methods (impedence, underwater weighing) are far apart, you might consider visceral fat issues (the classic skinny-fat) - putting aside any accuracy issue with Tanita scale & bf testing.

[RobLL]

I have mentioned before on this site that from my research truly accurate body fat readings are almost impossible to come by. Short summary:

electronic scales - you've been given the word already

calipers - the best people who do this are (unconsciously probably) assessing you visually, cross checking with calipers, and probably coming up with a pretty good figure.

hydrostatic - accurate if you are a typical person. Likely not be accurate if you are athletic or black. ps: by that definition all weightlifters are athletic

MRI - allegedly the new gold standard - got a thou$ or two to spare?

Upshot IMHO: look at a mirror and compare yourself to pictures in mags etc, also keep track of clothing fit.

[Cynic]

There is one other method I'd like to hear about...

body part ratio measure...

There is a site I found where by you plug in the tape measures of various body sites (waist, hips, forearm, wrist), along with your age, weight and gender and it spits out a bf%.

http://www.healthcentral.com/cholest...-2774-143.html

They claim a 2% accuracy for the average person, but the result can be 3-5% higher for fit people (less intramuscular fat) and 3-5% lower for skinny-fats.