The amount of water displaced is equivalent to the test subject’s body volume. It’s important that the test subject eliminates all air from his lungs, as well as any air trapped in his swimsuits or hair. Air changes how much water is displaced, so having excess air in or on the body will reduce the accuracy of the test. The test administrator measures how much water their body displaces and how much they weigh under water. Hydrostatic weighing involves submerging an individual into a water tank and onto an underwater scale. Despite their error rates making them less than perfect, they are as good as it gets when it comes to accessible body fat testing methods. Hydrostatic, or underwater, weighing, is on the same level as, if not slightly better than, DEXA scans when it comes to accuracy.īoth methods have similar error rates when measuring individuals. So, DEXA scan reports don’t just give you an overall body composition reading. They show you how your mass is distributed throughout your body, including where you store your fat, and how much lean mass and bone mass is in each body region. The scan results tell you the mass and corresponding percentages of fat, lean mass and bone in each of the following segments of your body: If that wasn’t thorough enough for you, DEXA scans go even further by providing a breakdown of your body composition by body region. Other testing methods either estimate these values or do not include them at all. DEXA scan results also include estimates of visceral fat (fat around organs) and intramuscular fat (fat within muscles like the marbling in a steak). Unlike other testing methods, the body fat data in DEXA scans isn’t limited to just subcutaneous fat (fat under skin and atop muscles). However, these machines are also capable of detecting fat mass and lean mass (note: lean mass for DEXA scans includes everything except bone mineral weight and fat mass ). Although the hydrostatic method may be slightly more accurate in some situations, it is much more logistically difficult to carry out compared to the ~7 minutes of lying on a table that’s required for a DEXA scan.ĭEXA machines are typically used by radiologists to analyze bone mineral density in patients who are experiencing, or at risk for, bone loss conditions (e.g. It’s rivaled only by hydrostatic weighing, which I’ll discuss in the section below. DEXA ScanĭEXA (Dual-Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry), or DXA, scans are arguably one of the top two most accurate body fat testing modalities available to the general public. Unfortunately, the best methods will cost you a bit of money and time to go to an appointment, but it’s worth it if the option is available to you.īelow, I’ll list, describe and review the pros and cons of all available body fat testing methods. None of the methods are 100% accurate, but some are far superior to others. There are several ways to measure your body fat, but not all are created equal. How to Measure & Track Your Body Fat Percentage Tracking your body fat in addition to body weight will help to minimize fat gains as you bulk. If you gain weight for the sake of seeing the number on the scale go up, you’re bound to put on an excessive amount of body fat. Similarly, if you’re trying to bulk up and build muscle, you shouldn’t just track your body weight. And it should go without saying that you want to keep as much muscle as possible. Some of that weight loss could be from water, muscle glycogen and/or muscle tissue. …Why? Because losing, let’s say, 20 lbs of body weight does not necessarily mean you lost 20 lbs of body fat. Tracking body fat is better than tracking only your body weight… If your goal is to get lean, tracking body fat percentage over time provides valuable data that you can use to reach your goal faster. After a certain threshold (around 25-30% body fat for men, 30-35% for women), it starts to become unhealthy. The higher your body fat percentage, the fatter you are. The lower your body fat percentage is, the leaner you are. muscle, bone, organs, water, etc.), is considered his lean body mass (LBM). The remaining 180 lbs., or 90% of his total body mass (i.e. Same Body Fat Percentage Looks Different With Different Lean Body Massīody fat percentage is the percentage of your total body mass that is made of fat.Other Factors Affecting Body Fat Distribution Pattern.Ethnic Differences in Body Fat Distribution.Things To Understand When Thinking Of Body Fat Numbers (And Comparing Yourself To Pictures):.Real Life DEXA-Verified Body Fat Percentage Photos.How Physique Goal And Fitness Level Affect Ideal Body Fat Percentage.How Age Affects Ideal Body Fat Percentage.Female: How Sex Affects Ideal Body Fat Percentage ABCs of Body Fat Measurement: Always Be Consistent.How to Measure & Track Your Body Fat Percentage.
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