help me interpret this weight-readout

[captainmummy]

was in Boots recently with a few minutes to kill, and spotted a weight-machine that measures fat and BMI and all. Anyway, paidmy 70p and this is the readout;

WEIGHT 9st9

HEIGHT 5'4

BMI 23.1 (IDEAL WEIGHT)

OK so far so understandable. but then i put my hands on the sensors for it to read my body fat %.;...

BODY FAT 38.7%
BODY FAT MASS 23.7kg Female
age 50

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Recommendations (%)

Excellent 28.7%
Good 31.0%
Average 35.0%
Poor 38.7%

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OK? My question is - is my body fat POOR (38.7%) ??? I am a size 10-12, everyone says i am slim, I am quite fit and my BMI is ideal!!!

Maybe it's the machine???

Ideally body fat for females should be under 30 but the range does increase with age.

I use to work in a gym and many of the ladies I measured were always amazed that although their weight was in the healthy range, their body fat could still be high.

When you say quite fit, are you exercising on a regular basis as really this is the key to reducing body fat.

I exercise every day, Prawn. I walk to work (25 mins each way) I walk up the stairs (4 floors) when I get there, tho at the mo i only work 2 days a week. I walk absolutely everywhere. I don't do gyms, but used to swim 3 times a week.

I can't beleive i am nearly 2/5ths fat. There's nowhere for it to go!

I wouldn't panic captain I don't think those machines are particularly accurate. The most reliable body fat measurement can be done using callipers in the hands of an experienced, trained person (eg a dr or personal trainer) or a super duper hideously expensive machine (usually found in medical facilities).

If you are worried, find somewhere to get it checked properly. prawncrackered is right, bodyfat and weight are sometimes surprisingly different, but given your weight and fitness and description of your body, I wouldn't dwell on it.

That's what I'm hoping - that the machine is not that acccurate.

The only thing is - at the backof my mind i seem to rememebr Dr Christian saying something about internal body fat (i.e that round the organs) is the most dangerous kind, because you can't see it and therefore assume everything to be ok. That some people who look slim actually have dangerous fat collecting round their heart/liver. I am thinking that because i don;t have much skeletal fat it must all be inside.

Don't know how to get rid of it tho.

Can't rememeber the actual programme , and it was a while ago.

The kind that you put your hands on run a current or something and it only really does your upper body, same as the body fat scales only really do the bottom of your body before the current peters out. Chances are you're less than 38% throughout your whole body but near 38% on your upper body because of boobs?

Boobs? I do have quite big ones (DD) so could it be confusing those with fat?

I'm sure those machines are not all that accurate, so it could be a bit off. But it is perfectly possible to have a 'healthy' BMI and still have quite a high body fat percentage.

And BMI of 23 is towards the upper end of the healthy range, so to be fair you probably do have a reasonable amount of body fat (unless you have quite a muscular build).

But if you're fit and healthy, and happy with the way you look, I wouldn't really worry about it. I guess one thing you could do is weight-bearing resistance-type exercises to build muscle? This is often a good idea for women especially as you get older as it helps maintain bone density as well.

(also boobs are mostly fat, I think, so it could be partly that! But would assume the 'healthy' body fat range for women is adjusted to take account of that...)

The ticket said the ideal BMI range was 18.5 to 25, ie 7st10 to 10st6 - I was 9st9 (according to their scales - I was 9st4 on my own bathroom scales that morning ). It's nearly a whole stone to get up to the upper BMI. When I lost a load of weight (marriage breakdown) I was 8st 8lb and my BMI was 21. everyone said I was too thin and even bony. I actually worked to bring my weight up, as I thought I looked too scrawny.

I just find it strange that as a size 10-12 (bought a skirt yesterday which was a 10 and it's comfortably loose) that i can be up at the top of the BMI scale.

Are we all supposed to be rakes? This must mean that most people in the size 12-14 and above are overweight/obese.

Yes the healthy range is 18.5-25, so there's nothing wrong with 23 - I was just trying to say that at that BMI you're probably not extremely thin, so maybe it's not so unlikely that you have a bit of a high body fat percentage?

I don't think there's one size/shape that we're all supposed to be, it depends a lot on your build and shape. My BMI is 21 - 5'2 and just over 8st - and I definitely don't look thin or bony, I never really have, not even when I weighed a stone less than I do now, it's just not the way I am. But someone else of my height might be easily able to weigh more and still look fine. Also people have different perception of what 'thin' looks like, and different preferences about how they like to look.

As long as you're healthy, it doesn't really matter!

The machines that put the current through you are definitely not accurate. My body fat was recently measured when I took part in an experiment (I work in a university so they're always looking for volunteers for these things.) First I was tested using a current machine and it gave a reading of 18.5%, then I was tested by being put in one of the hideously expensive pod things that measure your entire body composition completely accurately (or as accurately as scientists can these days), and it gave a reading of 13.6%. So, you probably have far less fat than you think, and as long as you're not overweight I wouldn't worry.

Thanks all - I was just shocked that as a size 10 and an 'ideal' BMI I was still assessed as having higher than average body fat, when I am definitely not fat.

Will try to forget the insult it.

Hi captainmummy I just wanted to add more reassurance re inaccuracy of the boots fat measurement machine.

I had my body fat measured by a pt with callipers last summer after 7 months of hard training and almost 2st weight loss and he made it 17%. I have continued training at least 4 times a week since then, a combination of (heavy) weight training, HIIT, kickboxing, running, swimming. I have lost a couple more lbs and I am sure I have more muscle and less fat. If the same PT tried to measure with callipers now, unlike last summer I don't think he could grab any flesh on the side of my thigh and there is less on my arms and tummy....however according to the boots machine I hopped on out of curiosity this morning my body fat % is 31.5 (BMI 21, size 8) ...I can't possibly see how that can be right either.