A university not too far from us is using a Bod Pod to measure percentage of body fat. I'd never heard of this but "they say" it is comparable to hydrostatic weighing. I'm curious as to anyone's experiences or knowledge as to how accurate it may be?

I know this isn't really exercise, but it is "fitness," and there didn't seem to be anywhere else to put it. So if you are reading to see if the Bod Pod is a super new exercise machine that melts the fat off of you...sorry

Um no never heard of it.

I've never used one but my gym has them. If they really are that accurate, I'd be interested in trying one pnce i get my BF% back down.

I was just researching those the other day--I think I ran across it as I was deleting a SPAM post here.

Looks like some higher end gyms and colleges have them. I saw where it costs like $75 to get tested in one. It appears no one in this state has one.

Regards,
Michael

Interesting alternative....can't seem to find a mobile testing van in my neck of the woods.
I have an appointment to get dunked this Friday morning, I'm curious to see if my body fat % has gone down at all in the last 6 months.

Good luck with the new test, sw07. Hope you see great progress.

It seems like the bod pod thing may be part of a research study for an exercise/physiology dept...I have to inquire. If so, it may be free. I just didn't want to go have a measurement done and have it not be reliable. Of course, they will tell you it's great, but...

I didn't do it myself, but I saw a fellow classmate use the Bod Pod at my college. We compared the calculations with the same classmate's hydrostatic weighing, and they were quite close. So, considering my massive sample size of one, I declare it proof positive that the Bod Pod is accurate!

Seriously, though, I think the hydrostatic method is still preferable in the scientific community, but I think the results of the Bod Pod have come close enough to be dependable. It certainly is a lot easier to do, too. I'd think that either method would give you an accurate estimate of body fat for your purposes, unless you are conducting a rigorous scientific experiment that you haven't told us about!

Hydrostatic is the gold standard but Bod pods are a close second. I've been in. Chasing a degree I had to take a phys ed course, nutrition etc, it was kind of BS but I had to take it. At one point we had to use the bod pod. It was GGRREEEAAAT. I had to go buy the appropriate clothing to wear. A really cute older lady was running the dumb thing and after donning the "appropriate attire" I felt like I may as well have shown up naked. You can't have any recent water intake or it will skew the exam and your clothing has to be minimal and VERY tight fitting. Tight to the point my future kids were squealing and there was nothing left to the imagination. That wouldnt have bothered me really but i was..........fat at the time. Or fat for me anyway. I was 5'11 and 202 lbs. I had a flat (kind of) stomach and love handles. I was heavy no doubt. Darn thing put me at 30% BF I was so devastated. I only got that way b/c of school. Left no time for anything else. That was my final semester. I was so motivated after that, I dropped 26lbs in 2 months. Wouldnt you know it I decided to chase my final degree.....yup. I got fat again Have fun if you get in it. Let me know what you think!