Home / Blog / Podcast / Ep. #945: Grant Tinsley on the Science of Measuring Your Body Fat
Written by Michael Matthews
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Are all body fat scales equally inaccurate? Are some accurate enough to actually be useful when tracking our body composition? That’s what Dr. Grant Tinsley wanted to test in the latest study out of his lab, and he’s discussing the surprising results in this interview.
Many fitness enthusiasts want to track their body fat levels and body composition to keep tabs on their progress and ensure their training and diet are on the right track. So it’s no surprise that many have been tempted to buy relatively inexpensive body fat scales and home devices that claim they can assess your body composition just by stepping on a scale or holding special electrodes. I’ve never recommended these devices due to their inaccuracy, but are some bio-electrical impedance analysis (BIA) devices good enough to actually help people keep track of their body composition?
That’s exactly what Dr. Grant Tinsley wanted to find out and what he and his team put to the test in their latest study. Grant and his colleagues bought some of the most popular BIA devices off of Amazon and compared their results with current gold-standard methods and expensive devices to determine how useful these tools really are.
So, how accurate are BIA body fat scales, why do some work better than others, can they actually be useful for tracking your body composition, and how can you get consistent and accurate readings with them? You’re going to find out in this podcast.
In case you’re not familiar withGrant, he’s an Assistant Professor at Texas Tech University, the Director of the Energy Balance & Body Composition Laboratory, and is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) and Certified Sports Nutritionist (CISSN). He has over 150 peer-reviewed journal articles and abstracts, with his major research interests being sports nutrition strategies, body composition assessment techniques, and intermittent fasting in active populations.
So, he’s the perfect guest to talk all about body composition measurement and discuss his new research on BIA devices. Press play to listen to our discussion!
Timestamps:
0:00 – Try Pulse today! Go to https://buylegion.com/pulse and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points!
4:30 – What is body composition and how accurately do home devices assess that?
21:09 – Do you recommend these devices?
30:17 – Did you come across any useful devices doing your experiments?
35:04 – What are other methods to accurately calculate body composition at home?
46:23 – What is three dimensional optimal imaging?
47:37 – What are your thoughts on the expensive machines found at gyms?
51:01 – What is the accuracy of the army body fat equation?
56:31 – What are some controlled factors we can practice for consistent readings?
59:08 – Where can we find you and your work?
Mentioned on the Show:
Try Pulse today! Go to https://buylegion.com/pulse and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points!
Grant’s Instagram
Grant’s Website
Pre-registered study
What did you think of this episode? Have anything else to share? Let me know in the comments below!
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Mike Matthews is the founder and CEO of Legion as well as the author of several award-winning fitness books, including Bigger Leaner Stronger, Muscle for Life, and The Shredded Chef.
His simple and science-based approach to building muscle, losing fat, and getting healthy has sold over a million books and helped thousands of people build their best bodies ever, and his work has been featured in many popular outlets including Esquire, Men’s Health, Elle, Women’s Health, Muscle & Strength, and more, as well as on FOX and ABC.
You can find Mike on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook.
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