Skinny fat?

video on "Skinny Fat"
The video is a little inset on the article listed below.
It really points out how inaccurate the BMI rating system is.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35315651/ns/health-diet_and_nutr ition

They are finding that a lot of people who appear to have a normal BMI and a normal weight range may be over fat.  They are having a larger percentage of fat on their bodies even though they look physically fit.

Scott

     At 5'10", 200lbs I come in with a BMI of 28.7 which puts me at the high end of "Overweight" (a BMI of 25-29.9).  In order to be considered "Normal Weight" (a BMI of 18.5-24.9) I'd have to lose 37lbs and weigh in at 173lbs.  I honestly don't know where I'd find another 37lbs to lose.  I could probably come up with 20, but 37?? I seriously think I'd look like a freakshow at 173...I mean, yikes, my bones are poking out now!!

   Just before I started weight training at the Y in December I got my body fat percentage computed twice within the same week.  According to the scale that my trainer used I was 16%, when the manager of the fitness center at the YMCA did it with the calipers it said I was 32%.  I'm solid, I do cardio five days a week and weight train three times a week.  I'm looking forward to getting it done again at the end of this month - it'll be three months of serious cardio and weight training and I'm curious to see the changes (if any).

   So what are we?  We used to be fat, now we're athletes with all kinds of excess skin which makes us look less fit than we really are...so are we fat skinny?  I think I'd rather be fat skinny, than skinny fat.  Anyone else?

 

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Yeah I was wondering if any of the body fat calculations could be accurate on us.
How does that extra skin work into their computations.
I can see it absolutely making a caliper test wrong.
Does it cause any deviation on a bio impedence test, and what about a dunk test, is it going to change the displacement and weight in the water.


Scott

What about Fat Skinny? There are TONS of people who are really skinny under all their fat...

My surgeon says the calipers will over estimate on us because of the loose skin. But he didn't say that about the other methods.

I've only been dunked once, but my experience is that it was fairly accurate. I have two bio-impedance scales and one always over-estimates (and by a lot) and always did even when I was actually fat. The other one under-estimates but I don't know if that's because of my loose skin or just because of how it's calibrated since I got it after I lost my weight and I can't get dh to use it. (He doesn't feel like programming it with all his info.)