Do calipers take into account visceral fat deposit

  • vojago
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07 Jul 2019 13:30 #219984 by vojago
Having recently lost more than 20 kgs, with no serious strength loss, I was curious how accurate fat measurement with calipers take into account all the fat stored underneath the abdominal muscles, between all the organs. Is it at all accurate, i.e., is subcutaneous fat measurement representative of what is in the abdominal cavity?

I realise after losing so much fat that I had MUCH more fat under my stomach muscles than covering it. So although I knew I could lose a few centimeters, I didn't realise how much. It's insidious how slowly visceral fat makes you fatter without realising it.

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  • Muscleaddict
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08 Jul 2019 11:08 #219989 by Muscleaddict
Replied by Muscleaddict on topic Do calipers take into account visceral fat deposit
Very good point. Done properly, calipers will give a pretty good BF estimate but this is a major flaw. Visceral body fat does differ from person to person and particularly as we get older with intra abdominal fat storage mostly I would think.

So it's safe to assume that a 21 year old guy who gets the same caliper measurements as a 48 year old guy will normally actually be leaner than the older guy, despite showing the same measurements.

There is no 100% accurate test. Even DEXA scans can be a few % off.

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