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. Well talk about the healthy range for men and women and the limitations. Accuracy can also vary depending on various factors including. Lees bmi would be way off the chart despite low body fat levels and loads of muscle. Before submersion in a water tank one is weighed. A smaller scale study 1691 persons using dexa scans seen as a valid body fat measuring device found that there was a 347 discrepancy between bmi and dexa for women and 352 for men.
Submersion in water occurs next in which subject is weighed again. Its easy to figure and non invasive though so it is useful as one of several screening tools to determine the appropriateness of a persons weight. Bmi body mass index which is based on the height and weight of a person is an inaccurate measure of body fat content and does not take into account muscle mass bone density overall body. Results from this study should be taken with a bit of scrutiny as bia is a measure of body fat with high variability based on hydration status. Calculating body fat percentage isnt always completely accurate and there are many methods to try. Bmi is the measurement of choice for most health professionals.
Caliper testing is widely recognised as being a superior measure of body fat compared with bmi testing. When it comes to evaluating weight and its impact on health your percentage of body fat waist circumference bmi. Bmi has its limitations because it doesnt directly measure your fat so its not the most reliable or valid way of determining body fat levels.