Body Fat Monitors

At one time, body fat monitors were only found at gyms or sports performance testing centres. Now, however, body fat monitors are not only readily available, but relatively inexpensive.

There are various types of body fat monitors on the market - let's look at the different options.

Calipers: This is a tried and tested type of body fat monitor. Calipers measure the thickness of your skin at certain set locations, then use standardized charts to assess your body fat percent. While using calipers is tricky to get right, this technique has good reliability once you know what you are doing.

More modern versions are electronic - they do the calculating for you, and also beep to tell you that you are using the right pressure. They will typically store data for up to three people.

The other popular method these days are scales and hand held devices that use bioelectrical impedance to assess your body fat. They are a quick and reasonably accurate way to track your body fat, although accuracy will vary from one device to another.

Another issue with models that use bioelectrical impedance is that those with high muscle mass - body builders and other athletes - and those with low body fat - for example, children - will often get a false reading.

If people from either of these groups are likely to use your device, be sure to get a model that has athlete and child settings.