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!

Those machines send a signal through your body and measure something, which can then be combined with a load of assumptions, plus your weight and your sex in order to work out a guess of your body fat percentage.
I remember when I was in my 20s we had scales that did it through your feet and my work had one you held with your hands, and there was about 8% difference between them.
The main benefit is as a relative measurement - if you use the same machine every month you'll get a trend over time which is useful.

As an analogy imagine someone shows you a pile of rubble and tells you you can measure it, then you have to work out how heavy it is. Maybe you'd get in the ball park after lots of practice.

I'm 30 these are my stats from 6 months at the gym.

I have been lifting heavy twice a week and loosely following weightwatchers for 6 weeks.

Mid 30s is pretty high not the ideal at all. Depending on age and sex it's between 20-30 on the whole and you'd be hoping for at least mid - late 20s. 38% is not good and dies seem high for slightly overweight but those machines are terrible. If you drink a whole lot of water and go straight back on they show a totally different number.

You should focus more on the visceral fat 🙂

Fat is really important! Much less than a third fat is very unhealthy indeed.

I'm afraid they are reasonably accurate. My BMI is 22 and my body fat shocked me... I'm 38% chocolate

I have BMI 22 and body fat % of 27. I do a lot of exercise, so am "heavy" for my measurements because I carry a lot of muscle.

With a BMI of 26 if you're not very active, I don't think the reading will be a million miles out, although those machines are not accurate in comparison to more scientific methods, they'll give a reasonable indication.

That's not true, healthy body fat range is 22-36%

You can't turn fat into muscle. Building muscle will help burn fat, but you can't change the state of the fat.

For a woman, lower for men.

Is that before or after we turn water into wine?

I'm 5' 8" and just under 11 stone, giving me a BMI of 23 ish (normal range) and making me a size 10-12.

My body fat percentage when I used the machine at the gym was 32%, which is top end of healthy for my build and age apparently. It was depressing!! I should be in the 20s apparently, so I'm working on that.

Sounds accurate OP. We have a fancy machine at the gym that does it and my BMI is 20 and my body fat is 23%.

According to nhs following 50th percentile for women your body fat would be 30-35%