Test results

by - Wednesday, April 15, 2009


Two weeks ago my job offered a battery of health screenings for relatively cheap. Two that caught my eye were bone density and body composition tests.

As a female, I was intrigued by the idea of getting my bone density measured so I knew where I stood. Was I getting enough calcium, doing enough weight-bearing activity, etc.?

For similar reasons, I thought the body composition was interesting. My scale at home does measure body fat percentage, but we all know those scales aren't the most accurate, so I was really interested in getting a more accurate reading.

To test bone density, I placed my foot in this little box and two little rods (maybe plastic?) touched the back of my foot on each side. I felt nothing as the electrical current was passed through my foot. The test works by determining how fast the current passes from one side to the other. Good news for me, the results showed I was above average. That was exactly that kind of news I was looking for. Must be all that running build strong bones!

The body composition test worked much in the same way. After recording my height and weight, the nurse place little electrodes on my legs and arms (I think, I can't quite remember if they were on my arms or not. I think they were, but it's been a while lol.)

Then again, I felt nothing as the electrical current did its thing. I got good numbers here too:

19.7% body fat (that number surprised me, I thought it would be a bit higher because I hadn't been doing much regular strength training) Normal range is 20-26% according to the paper from the nurse.
80.3% lean body mass. Normal here is 74-80%.

I was also 55.3% water, which is good. Normal is 50-60%.

I thought it was like the coolest thing ever to get some baseline numbers, but maybe that's because I'm just a big health nerd. If you ever have the opportunity to get any of these screenings for a reasonable price, I totally recommend doing it!

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15 comments

  1. That is cool stuff. I need to get my body fat percentage tested sometime....

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  2. I've never done either test. I just assume I'm perfect in about every way :)

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  3. Anonymous12:34 PM

    That is very cool. Glad you liked the results!

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  4. Very cool. I should probably get checked out too.

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  5. This is neat - I want to get tested!

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  6. That is really cool. I would totally get that done if I could for a reasonable price, I like knowing numbers like that!

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  7. I think my body is 80% beer and 20% testosterone and 100% bullsh*t.

    That sounds about right.

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  8. very cool stuff!!

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  9. That's really interesting. (And nice work on all the above/below average numbers!) I did a body fat underwater test last year, and I was super nerdy about it too.

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  10. How fun! Way to go on your awesome numbers! I think the body fat percentage puts you in the "athlete" range...yay!

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  11. That is so cool. I would love to have one of those tests on! Sounds like your numbers turned out really good! AWESOME!

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  12. That's really nice your job paid (at least partially) for something like that

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  13. Oohhhh that IS cool!! I want to get one! LOL

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  14. sounds cool! except my body fat would be through the roof unlike you, skinny minny! ;) glad your numbers came back good/excellent.

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