To think the machine in Boots is wrong I can't be 38% fat?!?

[Poolnoodlepoodle]

So I paid a pound today and stood on one of those machines in Boots that weighs you and gives your body fat percentage. I was shocked by the results the weight was about what I expected (10 stone 9 lbs) which makes me overweight but not massively so (bmi 26). But the in body fat percentage was 38% !?!

How does it calculate when you hold the handles? I assume it runs electricity through you (just judging by the warnings about pacemakers etc)? Is there any chance this is wrong?? The thought I'm nearly 40% fat is shocking!

I think those machines are notoriously unreliable

given your BMI has you as slightly overweight and you are slightly above the suggested healthy range for body fat (think it’s mid 30s %) it’s probably not miles out.

Sadly I agree that it’s probably not miles out. I was pretty skinny and got told 33% fat at the gym.

Unfortunately it's probably not far off. Unless you work out regularly you're probably skinnyfat without realising it.

Oh no ok 😭. I mostly did it to see if my scales at home are accurate (they are telling me I'm 3lbs heavier) so it was worth it. Wish I'd saved 30p and just had it do my bmi!

When I had a BMI of about 22, my body fat % was ridiculously high, can't remember what, but probably well into the 30s.

I've always carried a LOT of fat around my middle, even when my BMI was 21. Out of interest, where do you carry your excess weight? I'm curious to see if it's us 'apples' who have a higher body fat %!

They are serviced and re-calibrated on an annual basis.

It's mostly on my thighs/ bum. I'm a pear. There's a bit on my tummy I would wear a crop top or anything. So it's not an apple thing (from our anecdotal sample of 2 😝).

I know you weren’t asking me but I’m more an hourglass/pear shape, no fat around the middle at all. I guess it’s all hiding elsewhere!

Yeah that’s not actually that high for a woman, it sounds awful but it’s not that bad!

Depending on your age and height then you should be somewhere between low 20s and low 30s %

So unless you’re only 4ft, you’re probably not a million miles off of a healthy %

I'm 168cm, 57kg, and 27% fat according to that machine!

On my Eufy app the range for me is 22-36 and I am 33 so don’t think you’re miles out?

Calibrated with what? Body fat machines are really unreliable, no matter how professional or swanky they are. It works on pulses in the body but this is hugely affected by how hydrated you are.

Thats probably pretty average to be fair.

I've just googled it and at my age should be between 23% and 33% 😭.

When I was at my fattest I had my fat measured on a machine and by my PT (which is worse as they use these caliper things to pinch all the fat) and they came out very similar. I was 41% fat. I got that down to 15% fat (now back to about 30% ish after pregnancy) and it was a slog but it was also too low for me (I'm 5"11).

You were lucky getting a machine that actually worked in Boots. My local one usually has an out of order sign on it!

It's not that terrible if you actually look at the numbers ...
10st 9 is 149 pounds. If you work out that 1% of body fat is about 1.5lb, then to lose 15% and be in the target that's 14.9lb of fat, or aiming to drop to 9st. The percentages aren't exact, and change a bit as you lose weight but you don't actually want to lose 38% of body fat!

No I know I don't want to have no body fat but 9 stone would be a real challenge! I should have done it before lunch not after 😂

Sorry,10% I meant then, not 15%

Well it won't be right anyway, dexa scan is better but still unreliable, fat callipers are the best measurement if used by someone who knows what they're doing with them.

My smart watch scanned my body and said I'm 33% fat....I wear a size 10-12 and am quite tall... but I think it's correct!

Hello and welcome to being a mature female and not a teenage male.
21% to 32% fat is optimal, you're a bit over weight and a bit over target fat, you are normal.

it’s quite likely to be correct. My bmi is 20.5 and I am 28% bodyfat. Work out every day but I am peri so I blame it on that.

Please tell me you are quite short to be on the higher end of BMI at that weight because because I would LOVE to be 10st 9 😂 I didn’t think I was that bad, dread to think what % I’d be