[ASK] Reliable at home body fat measurements
I'm looking for a body fat measurement that is hard to mess up. For example, calipers, tape measurement, etc.
Problem with calipers is a few cm in the wrong direction changes the caliper reading and changes my calculated body fat.
2 replies
The problem with BMI is it was made to judge a group of people, so it just had to work for most people. At a time when they just cared about men and no one was really over 6 foot tall.
https://www.mdapp.co/ponderal-index-calculator-430/
Ponderal is the evolution that is accurate for individuals, and inputs the same two numbers but provides a better result.
That's probably more accurate than tape/calipers, and definitely easier.
I'm 6'4" so when I was in the military I always failed BMI (we had regular testing) and had to get taped, which is then pass. Even when I was at the brief point I had a six pack.
But Ponderal reports it accurately for someone of my height.
Even now, I think I'm in decent shape for my age, but people keep saying I'm too skinny. On BMI I need to lose 10 more pounds to be average, Ponderal says I can gain ~20 more before out of "normal" range.
However, for someone of average height, Ponderal won't just magically say you're now healthy. It's just a better formula that could be used for a newborn or Shaquille O'Neil.
Which takes care of the most common fail point of BMI; heights outside the norm
Opinionated take: BF % is just not an easy thing to measure accurately at home.
You’re gonna be best served sticking to your grind, and getting a dexa done every so often if you want to keep track. Use calipers/tape if you really want to, but they’re always more of a rough estimate than an objective metric.