Best BODY COMPOSITION equipment? (Edited)

I want to buy a scale or something that measures my body composition accurately. I don't have a lot of money, but can anyone recommend something? A certain brand? Calipers vs Scale? What do you think?

BMI is just a calculation, based on your height and weight.  The only measurement portion of BMI would be your weight... which a good scale will do that for you.

Go to my profile and download the weight loss spreadsheet - it will track it for ya :)

Thanks, but I already know that.  I want to actually measure the amount of fat on my body.  A weight scale is not as accurate as a BMI scale as far as indicating your true level of health.  I am talking about a machine, not a chart.

BMI is a horrible way to judge your health. Go to a gym and have them do the dunk tank or even calipers but the BMI is just not good because there are way to many variables it doesn't look at.

The scale actually sends electric pulses through your body.

I think I am just using the wrong word... I need a body composition scale machine, not a BMI machine.  I guess it's called something different.

I have see scales on amazon.com that send an electrical pulse through your body to measure your body fat...  Does anyone have one of these, and can you recommend the brand or unit?

Tanita is the most common and probably the most well-known.  However, those scales are notorious for miscalculating body fat because it totally depends on the amount of water in your body.  It can only give you a suggestion of what your body fat is, not necessarily a true representation.  Having said that, I do not own one, and have an obviously biased opinion.

You might wish to ask a mod to change/clarify your post's title -- you may get more responses from people with body fat/body composition scales.  To PM a mod, just click on their name and the "send message" will be to the right of the profile box.

Thanks, I just edited it! (I'm new)

Should I buy this? http://www.todaysconcept.com/omron-hbf-306-bo dy-fat-analyzer.html

That's the one they used at the last gym I belonged to -- again you just have to be aware that body water can affect the readings.

I just picked up the Accu-Measure Fitness 3000 body fat tester (the calipers) for $19.99 @ GNC and I got the same reading from them as I did the Omron Fat Loss Monitor ($39.99 @ GNC) that they use at my gym. You might want to give that a shot...it's pretty basic, no fancy buttons or thingys.

 

Good luck! 

I have a scale that measures body fat % as well as hydration (% water) and weight. It gives me very similar values to the one at my local gym, and it's a great way to track progress. I don't remember the brand, but it was about $30 and well worth it for me.

The easiest and most accurate I've found is the Navy Formula, it compares favorably to standardized caliper and dunk measurements.  All you need is your height, weight, and a tape measure.

Here is a website that will do the calculation for you.

http://www.webcalcsolutions.com/Fitness-Calcu lators/Body-Fat-Navy.asp?AcctNum=3

Here is the navy paper on the measurements, with a table to do the same thing.

http://www.jag.navy.mil/documents/Careers/BCA .pdf