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Why Is Skinfold Testing The Best Way To Measure Body Fat

There are many different methods to meausre body aft percentage. Some are more accurate then others, some are more expensive and some are just too complicated. Underwater weighing is suppose to be the most accurate method of all. But it is not practical for personal use on a regular basis. Most people  don´t even have such an opportunity. For home self testing, you want a method that is simple, practical, easily accessible and inexpensive. Skinfold testing is the best method to achieve all of this.

Skinfold testing is based on the premise that the majority of your body fat is subcutaneous– right below your skin where you can see and grab it. So if you pinch the skin and fat and measuring the thickness of the fold at one or more sites, you can get a fairly accurate estimate of your total body fat percentage. And you will also get consistant feedback, which is even more important then the accuracy.

The best thing about skinfold testing is that you can do it yourself. It can be very uncomfortable and even embarrassing if a total stranger does it. Using a inexpensive plastic skinfold caliper called the Accu Measure is much better than letting others do it. The Accu Measure only requires a skinfold to be taken at the same place, not from 3 different places. Based on this single measurement, you simply refer to a body fat interpretation chart for an accurate estimate of total body fat.

And it really does not matter if using the Accure Measure caliper is the most accurate, consistant feedback is much more important. To get constant feedback you have to use the same method constantly. But using skinfold testing to measure body fat accurately and consistantly can take some time. If you measure your fat percentages for the first time, you may get different readings every time. But the more you practice, the better you get. Everything is difficult the first time, and practice makes perfect. The accuracy will only be as good as the tester’s experience and testing technique. The more you practice the more accurate the numbers will get.


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