Tips for using calipers?

[Guest guest]

Hello,

I am a 33 y.o. female. I recently purchased a digital body fat

caliper from AccuFitness. The first time I measured my body fat with

it, it came out to 19 percent. That seemed overly optimistic, so I

measured it again about 5 minutes later and it came out to 28

percent. Obviously, I am doing something wrong if I am getting such

varied measurements. It is recommended to

take a skinfold measurement at your triceps, waist and thigh. Part

of the problem is that I can't really grip a fold of skin on my

thigh-- my quads are pretty muscular with not much fat. I think I

ended up gripping muscle instead and got an inaccurate reading. My

butt, on the other hand, has plenty of fat. Could I measure it there

instead to get a lower-body reading? Or if not, how do you measure

an area where it is difficult to pinch the skin because the skin is

pretty tight?

Also, is there a particular spot on the waist that is the best place

to take a measurement?

Thanks in advance for any help!

Tamara Ruggiero

Gaithersburg MD

[Guest guest]

Hello Tamara,

Typical sites for skinfold measurements are : biceps, triceps, subscapular,

mid-axilla, iliac crest, supraspinale, abdominal, front thigh and medial

calf some are impossible to reach on your own! I would not advise to take

your own skinfolds, get someone to measure them for you! You will find the

book below helpful for the locating and taking of skinfolds (I realise that

it is expensive, but you may be able to get it from a library?).

When taking skinfolds measure at least twice. Measure all folds once then

repeat, this should give time for the initial compression of the fat caused

by the calipers to have minimal impact on the second measurement. If both

measurements for a fold are within 5% (depending on the scale of your

calipers) then I would suggest that you can be confident with the

measurement. You may find that for the thigh that this will not be the case

and you may have to take more than two attempts to get two measurements

within the 5%, this can get quite painful..

Good luck!

Melbourne, Australia

Anthropometrica : a textbook of body measurement for sports and health

courses / edited by Norton & Tim Olds.

ISBN : 0868402230 : AU$49.95

[Guest guest]

I agree with 's advice. Just to add a few additional comments:

You alluded to substituting some of the sites since you couldn't get

a good skinfold on the thigh. The different formulas to estimate

bodyfat % are site specific. Meaning taking a measurement some place

other than the thigh would invalidate the formula.

One additional site that can be measured for females is the back of

the thigh (I think I recall this from a book by Tudor Bompa).

Another suggestion is to mark all of the sites listed with an

eyebrow pencil. This ensures the person measuring uses the exact

site each time. A few centimeters difference in the location of the

skinfold can further skew results.

If there's no driving reason to know exact percentages then just

monitor the change in mm at each site. As long as the skinfolds are

reducing you're losing bodyfat.

As far as the thigh being too tight to get an accurate skinfold, I

would recommend looking into myofacial release or perhaps working

with a massage therapist. The skin should have a measure of

elasticity. If it is too tight this may merrit further attention?

Schaefer - Since you are a message therapist and a competitive

lifter, do you have any input on skin elasticity and fascia that is

possibly too tight? Or is it even a concern?

Savannah, Georgia

> Hello Tamara,

>

> Typical sites for skinfold measurements are : biceps, triceps,

subscapular,

> mid-axilla, iliac crest, supraspinale, abdominal, front thigh and

medial

> calf some are impossible to reach on your own! I would not advise

to take

> your own skinfolds, get someone to measure them for you! You will

find the

> book below helpful for the locating and taking of skinfolds (I

realise that

> it is expensive, but you may be able to get it from a library?).

>

> When taking skinfolds measure at least twice. Measure all folds

once then

> repeat, this should give time for the initial compression of the

fat caused

> by the calipers to have minimal impact on the second measurement.

If both

> measurements for a fold are within 5% (depending on the scale of

your

> calipers) then I would suggest that you can be confident with the

> measurement. You may find that for the thigh that this will not be

the case

> and you may have to take more than two attempts to get two

measurements

> within the 5%, this can get quite painful..

>

> Good luck!

>

> Melbourne, Australia

>

> Anthropometrica : a textbook of body measurement for sports and

health

> courses / edited by Norton & Tim Olds.

> ISBN : 0868402230 : AU$49.95

[Guest guest]

Tamara,

For a good spot to measure on the waist pinch above the iliac crest at the

midline and fold obliquelly in line with natural angle of the iliac crest. For

the thigh measure vertically along the midline of the front of the thigh, midway

between the junction of the midline and inguinal crease and the upper part of

the patella. Also make sure to pinch only with the thumb and index finger.

Hopefully this will help you out.

Steakley

Tennessee Tech University

Cookeville, Tennessee

[Guest guest]

<<<I am a 33 y.o. female. I recently purchased a digital body fat

caliper from AccuFitness. The first time I measured my body fat with

it, it came out to 19 percent. That seemed overly optimistic, so I

measured it again about 5 minutes later and it came out to 28

percent. Obviously, I am doing something wrong if I am getting such

varied measurements. It is recommended to take a skinfold measurement

at your triceps, waist and thigh. Part of the problem is that I can't

really grip a fold of skin on my thigh-- my quads are pretty muscular

with not much fat. I think I ended up gripping muscle instead and got

an inaccurate reading. My butt, on the other hand, has plenty of fat.

Could I measure it there instead to get a lower-body reading? Or if

not, how do you measure an area where it is difficult to pinch the

skin because the skin is pretty tight?

Also, is there a particular spot on the waist that is the best place

to take a measurement?>>>

The following websites may help:

http://www.fitnesspros.com/articles/bodyfattest.html (* star)

http://www.highnrg.com/articles/archive/1299article.htm (* star)

http://topendsports.com/testing/tests/skinfolds.htm (*** stars)

http://www.med.wright.edu/lhrc/felbcmd2.html#anchor236246 (** stars)

http://www.ag.uiuc.edu/~food-lab/ai/Anthpmtrc.html (* star)

http://www-rohan.sdsu.edu/~ens314/tutorials.htm (**** stars)

http://www.fhcrc.org/phs/cvdeab/chpt15.html (** stars)

http://www.insitefitness.com.au/lessons/fitness%

20testing/Anthropometry/Body%20Composition.html (* star)

http://www.dietandbody.com/article1226.html (*** stars)

http://new-fitness.com/body_fat_analyzing.html (**** stars)

http://www.new-fitness.com/body_composition.html

http://www.udel.edu/HESC/physLab/BodyComp.htm (** stars)

http://www.bcm.tmc.edu/cnrc/research/bodycomp.htm (* star)

http://www.developed.net/bodycomp.htm (* star)

http://www.gsu.edu/~wwwfit/bodycomp.html (**** stars)

http://www.imakenews.com/bioanalogics/e_article000020481.cfm (**stars)

http://nutrition.uvm.edu/bodycomp/tobec/ (***stars)

http://www.sportsci.org/encyc/drafts/Body_comp_measure.doc (**stars)

Calculator

http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/BodyComp.html

BIA

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/cbm/bioelimp.html

http://www.sportsci.org/encyc/drafts/Bioelectrical_impedance.doc

(***stars)

--------

Carruthers

Wakefield, UK