Posted by Larry Hoover on November 30, 2004, at 9:35:23
In reply to Re: Measuring body fat, posted by Tabitha on November 28, 2004, at 20:22:29
> I think it sends a low electrical current through you and measures resistance, which is supposed to correlate somehow to body fat. I'm not sure how accurate it is.
I checked the methodology, and I think these fall into the "quack attack" category. Factors which render the reading false include such simple things as moisture level of the skin, how tightly it is gripped, and the difference in grip between the two hands. There are similar devices you stand on, and the although you don't grip them, foot position, and skin moisture content again are very significant uncontrolled variables.
The only way to calculate an accurate BMI is with mathematics. But even still, an accurately calculated BMI must be interpreted. There are athletes, like pro football players, without hardly an ounce of fat on them, who would have calculated BMIs putting them in the severely obese range.
The old-fashioned pinch-calipers which measured sub-cutaneous body fat depth are probably far more informative, from a fitness/obesity perspective.
Lar
poster:Larry Hoover
thread:421437
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/health/20041005/msgs/422278.html