Body Composition Analysis with the BOD POD (X POST)

Went in for my body composition analysis with the BOD POD this morning. The analysis itself was quick and painless. The only preparation was to not eat or drink an hour before the testing and since my appointment was at 8:00 am, I just went in fasting. I also needed to wear a swimsuit or spandex exercise shorts and jog bra.

I stripped down to my swimsuit, put on a swim cap to matt down my hair, stepped on a scale and then into the BOD POD. The BOD POD is an egg shaped machine that measures body mass based on air displacement. I did 3 consecutive tests (for accuracy) each only lasted about a minute. When I was all done, they printed out a copy of my report, I paid my $40 for the test and I was on my merry way.

The results:

My percent body fat is at 10.9% (13.6 lbs.)

My lean mass is 89.1% (111.9 lbs.)

I am in the risky (too low) category for body fat. These are the categories for men and women

Rating                     Men               Women         Explanation

Risky (too high)        >30%            >40%          more at risk for health problems

Excess Fat               20.1-30%      30.1-40%      excess fat accumulation over time

Mod. Lean               12.1 - 20%     22.1-30%      acceptable level for good health

Lean                       8.1-12%         18.1-22%      lower than average body fat, excellent for health and longevity

Ultra Lean               5-8%              15-18%         level sometime found in elite athletes

Risky (too low)        < 5%              < 15%          can present health risks, especially for women

BOD POD accuracy is usually within 1% of under water weighing which is considered the "gold standard"

When compared to DEXA BOD POD tends to overestimate % body fat for thinner people and underestimate % body fat for heavier people which means I could be even less fat.

My resting metabolic calories are computed at 1,335 daily

TEE calories are:

1656 (sedentary)

2030 (low Active)

2323 (Active)

2764 (Very Active)

According to this, I should be able to eat about 2,323 calories per day - yeah right! Minus about 1,000 if I want to stay lean!

My take on all of this:

I think the BOD POD truly underestimated my % body fat. I think I am probably VERY lean, maybe even a little too lean but not 10.9%

I look and feel good. Would I look emaciated if I had my extra skin removed? Maybe. I know I am very boney where I don't have much extra skin (shoulders, shoulder blades, ribs etc). I also have pretty good muscle definition. I never have looked as heavy as the scale reads. I think I might naturally be "leaner" at any given body weight.

These results want me to have a DEXA scan even more! Would like to compare the two.

Paula

At 5'4" and 125-126 lbs. I would also doubt the fat calculation of only 10-11% body fat.  Even the ripped-to-the-heavens fitness goddesses I've come in contact with don't have 10% body fat.  

If you can find a place that does the underwater body fat testing, go for it.  It would be nice to see the comparison! 

I agree from what I've read these body pods are extremely inaccurate and they usually use them to get you to join a gym or continue at a gym. It may not be in this case but it very often is the case. Only the water type are accurate from my understanding.

I don't think they are highly inaccurate - studies show otherwise ( http://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/Abstract/2008/11000/Evalua tion_of_the_BOD_POD_for_Estimating_Percent.37.aspx and a nice meta analysis that shows a < 1% difference between hydrostatic weighing and DEXA and the BOD POD  http://goranlab.com/pdf/R27.pdf .

I do however believe my results showed some inaccuracies with my % body fat being estimated lower than it probably actually is . I had my analysis done at a Human Performance lab through a local University's Kinesiology department (conducted by a Doctoral prepared professor) - so it wasn't a gimmick to get me to join anything or a student's learning experience.