difference between dexa and calipers

[maccaz]

mind blown

thought i was starting to look leaner. guesstimated 18-20% bf

had caliper test, 18%

went for dexa, 27%

 

huge difference. maybe time for a new hobby lol

 

that difference between the 2 methods is intense, could really throw someone out if they were tracking using both methods of measuring bf%

basically a rant cos 27% wtf lol

 

[HumanPerformance]

 

Thats why you only use one method for bodyfat testing, and if doing skinfolds is best if the same person tests you every time (as everyone does things slightly differently). Because its not the absolute number that matters the most, its the the changes to that number.

DEXA will always measure alot higher though as it measures ALL your bodyfat, including all the bodyfat around your internal organs and intramuscular bodyfat as well. Skinfolds only measures what bodyfat you have directly under your skin sitting on top of the muscle.

IMO DEXA is the most accurate way of measuring bodyfat by far, even more so than hydrostatic weighing (becuase of all the genetic variances in bone density etc).

[ohjoshua]

do you have pics of what you look like at 27% bf on DEX and 18% calipers. would be interesting to see what the members would guess your bf as visualy.

[Dinahlady]

Heard its usually the case. Had a female client you would visually call about 16-17% and a guy who you would probably call 6-7% come out at 22% and 12% respectively. 

When people say what body fat they are - yes it probably did come out somewhere in that region on callipers - but its kind of also an idea that people have of what "shredded" looks like. "under 10%" etcetc. But thats just an idea and not an objective measure - which DEXA more closely is. Not everyone who is 10% bf will look the same or look "as good". 

If everyone had a dexa right before a comp someone on stage might realistically be 9-10% bf but look just as shredded and as "good" as someone else there who is 5-6% bf. 

[Phedder]

 

Thats why you only use one method for bodyfat testing, and if doing skinfolds is best if the same person tests you every time (as everyone does things slightly differently). Because its not the absolute number that matters the most, its the the changes to that number.

 

This is so important, and far too many people get hung up on the bodyfat percentage. When I do skinfolds for clients, 80% of them time I won't actually tell them their calculated bf%. I'll explain that we've measured the fat under their skin in mm's, and decreasing those mm's is what's important and where the focus should be. It's just much easier than dealing with the inevitable "This guy looked at me and said I'm around 15% bf, but you're measurements put me at 20%" etc. 

[Pseudonym]

DEXA will always measure alot higher though as it measures ALL your bodyfat, including all the bodyfat around your internal organs and intramuscular bodyfat as well. Skinfolds only measures what bodyfat you have directly under your skin sitting on top of the muscle.

So I guess the higher your bodyfat is, the bigger the discrepancy between calipers and DEXA will be - because even though your internal bodyfat is still increasing, the calipers will never see it. But conversely at lower BF%, the numbers are more likely to be closer?

[AZIDE]

DEXA will always measure alot higher though as it measures ALL your bodyfat, including all the bodyfat around your internal organs and intramuscular bodyfat as well. Skinfolds only measures what bodyfat you have directly under your skin sitting on top of the muscle.

So I guess the higher your bodyfat is, the bigger the discrepancy between calipers and DEXA will be - because even though your internal bodyfat is still increasing, the calipers will never see it. But conversely at lower BF%, the numbers are more likely to be closer?

i would have thought the opposite

[Leeroid]

Post some pics, fat boy

[maccaz]

Post some pics, fat boy

Yeah probably will over the weekend

 

[Riccardo]

Yeah callipers are absolutely horrible there is a margin of error of around +/- 3% body fat I think so they're even crap for keeping track of progress.

underwater weighing is average too although those bod pods are pretty good. Bio impedance can be very good but there are a lot of factors to control such as clothing, hydration status, food intake ,jewellery,  temperature etc.

i did callipers vs DEXA one time, I was 9% by calipers and 14% by DEXA , callipers tend to underestimate lean individuals which is why you get dumb body builders saying they're 2-3%. Essential fat within your cell membranes is 5% so the general consensus is that it's physiologically impossible to get lower than that.

[HarryB]

What was the point of the op? To show there was a difference or asking which was more effective?

Does it matter is probably a more relevant question. Whatever system you use it's just a guage of progress isn't it so it matters less which you use and more that you're consistent with it I'd imagine.

I don't use any measure with my prep clients, I just go by how they look because that's pretty much all that matters in bodybuilding

[maccaz]

What was the point of the op? To show there was a difference or asking which was more effective?

Does it matter is probably a more relevant question. Whatever system you use it's just a guage of progress isn't it so it matters less which you use and more that you're consistent with it I'd imagine.

I don't use any measure with my prep clients, I just go by how they look because that's pretty much all that matters in bodybuilding

bit of a rant, just showing there is a big difference. i reckon dont track using a combination of the two, just one or the other.

i usually go by how i look, with the odd caliper but will now just use mirror and regular monthly dexa's cos theyre free for me

 

[HumanPerformance]

DEXA will always measure alot higher though as it measures ALL your bodyfat, including all the bodyfat around your internal organs and intramuscular bodyfat as well. Skinfolds only measures what bodyfat you have directly under your skin sitting on top of the muscle.

So I guess the higher your bodyfat is, the bigger the discrepancy between calipers and DEXA will be - because even though your internal bodyfat is still increasing, the calipers will never see it. But conversely at lower BF%, the numbers are more likely to be closer?

 

It depends on the individual.A younger person(even if they are obese) will have less of a difference between the two measurments as it takes times to build up substantial amounts of internal fat (Visceral fat). Dietary intake plays a big roll as well, think of heavy beer drinkers with the classic "beer belly". Some of these individuals have a huge amount of visceral fat around thier abdominal region. but if you peroform an actual skinfold test on them thier bodyfat may not measure that high at all, so of course the difference between the DEXA scan and the skinfold is going to be massive.