z********0
发帖数: 9013 | 1 How Body Fat Scales Work And Why It's Important
Body fat scales use a technique called Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis... o
r BIA for short. Very simply...
A small and completely harmless electrical current is passed through your bo
dy. The electrical current passes more quickly through fat free tissue like
muscle than it does through fat or bone tissue. So...
The amount of resistance to the electrical current relates to how much fat-f
ree mass a person has and their body density. Here's the first challenge...
Like all body fat tests, body fat scales don't actually measure your body fa
t percentage. They determine your body density. The examiner (or the scales)
then uses a formula to calculate body fat percentage based on body density.
Here's the key...
These formulas just predict your body fat. Unfortunately there is no one for
mula that accurately predicts body fat for the whole population. Differences
in age, gender, ethnicity, body size, and fitness level all have a signific
ant affect on the results.
Most scales can account for some of the basic differences such as age and ge
nder, but take the actual body fat percentage they give you with a pinch of
salt. What does this all mean for you?
Well, whether body fat scales measure your "true" body fat percentage or not
doesn't matter! As long as they can accurately monitor changes in your body
composition over time, that's all you need.
Your body position, the amount of water in your body, your food intake, skin
temperature and recent physical activity can all adversely affect the resul
ts of body fat scales. So...
To achieve accurate, consistent results, you must standardise the way you pe
rform each test. That simply means making each test with your scales as simi
lar as possible. The great thing about body fat scales is...
Standardising each test is easy to do. Check out the Top 10 Tips at the bott
om of this page to get the most from your body fat scales.
Are body fat scales any better than plain old weighing scales?
Absolutely!
One of the biggest mistakes people on a weight management program make is ga
uging their progress by weight alone. For all the reasons you should calcula
te body fat see the body fat percentage article.
<<< The 10 Top Tips When Buying And Using Body Fat Scales >>>
1. Use them to measure your progress only. Don't compare your body fat perce
ntage to tables or to your friends score. It is probably inaccurate no matte
r what the manufacturers say.
2. Choose body fat scales that have the right profile for you. If your child
ren are going to use them make sure they can be calibrated for children. If
you're an athlete (+10 hrs of strenuous exercise a week) same thing applies.
This is important. It makes a big difference.
3. Measure out some water one hour before you test yourself. Make sure you a
lways drink the same amount of water one hour before you test yourself.
4. Measure yourself at the same time of day for each test.
5. Your skin temperature affects the electrical current used by the scales.
It's difficult but try to test yourself in a similar room temperature each t
ime.
6. Don't test yourself after exercising. When you exercise you sweat and whe
n you sweat you lose water. This affects your hydration levels and hence...
the results.
7. Thoroughly clean the foot pads, preferably with alcohol and then dry them
off each time you test.
8. Buy the most expensive body fat scales you can afford. Accuracy will almo
st certainly increase with price.
9. If ever you get the chance, have your body composition measured by a prof
essional using skin fold calipers. It will give you a frame of refernece as
to how accurate your scales are.
10. Read the page on body fat calipers for an alternative you could consider
. | n***s
发帖数: 10056 | 2 cool. Thanks for sharing. I used mine as a reference as well. Very
convenient. |
|
