My varsity team is getting retested in the Bod Pod next week and I’m right in the middle of a loading phase with Micronized Creatine. Would this throw off my body composition assessment by the Bod Pod?

July 9th, 2010
By Paul Cribb Ph.D. CSCS.
Filed Under: Questions & Answers

The Bod Pod has become a popular method of body composition assessment. Based on the research available, the Bod Pod appears to be a fairly accurate piece of equipment that assesses body composition quickly and easily. The Bod Pod determines body composition by air displacement and much like underwater weighing.

A study by South Dakota State researchers has shown that supplements such as creatine, retain water in the body (both in and out of cells) and this affects the accuracy of a Bod Pod measurement.

It is common for variations of up to 3% in body fat percentage due to differences in water concentrations within some tissues. Therefore, if the Bod Pod test says that you’re body fat is 17%, in reality it could be anywhere from 14 to 20%. There is not much you can do about this, just remember to take this aspect into consideration when you obtain your measurement.

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