Question about Caliper thingies

How accurate are those caliper things in measuring your bodyfat? And where can I get a decent one (in the greater Toronto area?!?).

Thnx
T.

I have never tried them but I have heard they can give bad estimates if you have spot fatty areas, like lower stomach, back, chest...... I wonder if anyone has gotten the accurate test done and then had the calipers done right afterward to see the margin of error??

Pain

it all depends on where you measure, how many locations you use and how good you are at it.

its a big crap shoot to me, i even saw on tv that the "body fat" scales are not close to acrate. The only one that was close was made by "taylor"

BUMP for more tips

if your good at it, its usally a 2% error, i have no idea where to buy one try online? Make sure to measure your self before you work out or do cardio, the measurements will be way off

Buddah i don't know where you heard heard that crap but your way off, i measure people by calipers, electro static, and both come up even, its only a 2% error, you said " I SAW IT ON TV" OH never TV is always right !

this was a test done by good house keeping using a staff of researchers and a doctor/scientist to verify if the tests were accurate.

well im not sure where the attitude about tv came from but whatever.
thats what i saw and i was trying to help.

What do you do then that is more accurate? The one where they hook you up to a computer? Does anyone have a rough idea of how much they charge for something like that?

Also, for those of you in the GREATER TORONTO AREA, where can I get something like that done?

the water test thingie is pretty accurate. Ask around at the gym and I'm sure you'll find a place (usually a College)

I actually go to university, however I really doubt they do it at mine (it's a smaller campus of Toronto's main university). I'll see what I can find, thnx :)

The water displacement test is supposed to be the most accurate way of testing % of BF short of skinning you and melting the fat to weigh it... :)

Any university that has a med school should have those tests available, but how much they charge for it that I don't know... though with our communist medecine system here in Canada if you get a referal from a doctor maybe medicare flips the bill? It would be worth checking out.

Alrighty Red, i'll ask around, sounds like a plan. BUT, if they say they don't offer it, or if it's damn expensive, would you recommend to just go with the caliper thingies?

Well, I'll be honest, I consider the cliper thiggnies to be just like a normal bathroom scale... no two bathroom scale will give you exactly the same weight, and no two person with calipers will come to exactly the same results.

BUT

If you always use the same scale, you do get proportionally accurate mass results, and I would expect the same from a competent consistant person with calipers (you see where I am going with this?).

So no I would not trust calipers as a true reading of your %BF, but I would certainly trust them as an indication that you are losing or gaining %BF if the readings are always done in the same way by the same person.

My 2 cents worth :)

Red

Very very nice. Sounds very logical :)

I was thinking of maybe getting one with my friend, splitting the price, and that way everyone can use it. Also, if we don't like the results it gives, we can probably return it with complaints.

Will let you know :)

personally i just like to get a rough idea where i am.


I say use the scales and calipers daily or weekly or whatever and once a year or every 6 months and do the wqter test.

Heh im still working on losing all my fat so i dont need exact numbers.

I have those digital calipers and they work ok. The were actually not that expencive either. They mesure 3 place so its not bad. I make my wife do it every time. I know there not accurate but as long as they are just as inaccrute every time I know if I'm loosing or gaining

Hydrostaic is the only accurate way to get a good bodyfat reading. It costs about 40 bucks around here. I have never had it done (had an apointment but missed it due to work) but would like to eventually try it. Supposedly the company here gives you some solid info about your bodies tendencies for fat gaining and losing based on the results. They have a big truck that visits the gym every 2-3 months for one day...

The calipers are not very accurate at all. The biggest variable is how the person pinches... results can very from 3-5% - and for men, 5% is a big margin. Other variables that distort the reading are if you are pumped from a workout (do it before working out) and if you are well hydrated (need to be).

The best way to use calipers is to monitor progress. Have the same person pinch you everytime - you may not know your exact bodyfat - but you will know if your are changing for the better or worse with the same person pinching you every time in the same sites.

Sounds good.