The second disadvantage is that a person may have little body fat in arms chest and thighs and may have excess fat elsewhere in the body. 11 19 from a clinical and epidemiological point of view it is important. Bioelectrical impedance bia bia is one of the quickest and easiest methods for predicting body fat. Overall thats pretty good. This shortcoming can be done away with if the same area is used time and again so one can gauge the increase or reduction in body fat over time. On average underwater weighing underpredicts meaning it gives you lower body fat percentages than a 4 compartment model body fat percentage by 01 to 12 although one study showed an overprediction in young women of 21.
That is not accounted for in this body fat analysis. However the convienience of this method comes at a price of accuracy. This means to accurately detect a decrease in body fat in most people the body fat percentage needs to drop by a minimum of 4 5. These medical bia devices give important metrics like visceral fat skeletal muscle mass muscle distribution bmr and more. The pitfalls of body fat measurement part 3. Given the error rate for measuring change over time theres a good chance those numbers are way off.
That means they measure the bodys fat muscle and water levels. Bod pod the pitfalls of body fat measurement part 5. So an athlete with a lot of muscle for example could have a higher bmi based on their weight and height. The downside to relying on bmi is that it doesnt measure body fat. Bia devices go beyond just fat to provide a complete picture of someones health something you cant do with calipers. Bod pod last week i told you how body fat testing is a prediction not a measurement.
Dual energy x ray absorptiometry dexa. In part 2 you learned about underwater weighing and in part 3 you learned about the bod pod. Even the best techniques have a 4 5 error rate when measuring change over time. The lower your body fat percentage the higher percentage of lean muscle mass you have on your frame. Here are the 10 best ways to measure your body fat percentage. Therefore the objective measurement of sarcopenia is hampered by limitations intrinsic to assessment tools.
18 body composition techniques are based on these organizational levels. Also the cdc says. Skinfolds the pitfalls of body fat measurement part 6. The 2compartment model divides the body weight into fat mass and fat free mass or ffm. In part 1 of this series you learned about how body fat testing is a prediction not a measurement. I also talked about the 2 compartment model its limitations and how hydrostatic weighing is reasonably accurate for groups but can have an error rate of as high as 6 in individuals.
The pitfalls of body fat measurement part 3. Now lets talk about bia.