Styku makes a prediction of your body fat %, and Styku Phoenix also predicts lean mass %, bone mass, and more. Read below to learn how it works.
Important Note : For a complete explanation of Styku's Phoenix body composition system, take our video certification course here :
https://www.styku.com/education/bodyfat
Body fat prediction basics
Despite what you may have heard, body composition analyzers do not measure body fat %!
Calipers measure skinfold thickness to determine body density. Bioelectrical Impedance Analyzers (BIA devices) measure electrical resistance. The dunk tank measures water displacement to determine body volume. Styku measures body circumferences.
However, all of these devices are able to make a prediction about body composition indirectly, using equations that compare one measurement to another. For example, when you measure skinfold thicknesses with calipers and input the values into the Jackson & Pollock equation, you will end up with a value for body density. That value can then be input into another equation (perhaps Siri, or Brozek) to get an estimate of body fat %.
The body composition analyzers you are likely to find in the gym or doctor's office all work similarly. They take a measurable value and apply it to an equation that correlates the measured value with a body fat % value from a device that can actually "see" body fat - the Computed Tomography (or CT) scanner, or a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (or MRI) device.
How the Styku body fat prediction works
In Styku's case, circumference measurements of the body captured in Styku's 3D body scan are applied to an equation that Styku derived using hundreds of subjects scanned in a DEXA machine. DEXA stands for Dual-Energy X-ray Absorptiometry, and the device is an X-ray machine you lay down on as X-rays are passed over your body.
DEXA makes a prediction of body fat % (as well as lean mass and other body composition values), but it is correlated directly with a 4-compartment model of the body that includes data from CT scans, which makes it exceptionally accurate when compared with other methods.
Over 200 participants were scanned by a DEXA machine and also scanned by a Styku body scanner. DEXA values for body composition were collected as well as dozens of circumference measurements through the Styku scan. Analysis was then done to find a comparison or correlation between the circumferences and the DEXA body composition values.
By finding a strong correlation between the body fat % value produced by DEXA and Styku's circumference measurements, Styku is able to offer DEXA-quality body composition values to its customers in the same amount of time it takes to do a Styku scan - about 35 seconds.
You can learn more about Styku's method for creating the body composition equations here: