Hey all---
I just got a Tanita BF-572 Body Fat Scale. I know they aren't as accurate as dunking and some other methods, but I wanted to get a quick picture. However, I've heard that these Tanita scales only take your body fat percentage in your lower body. Is that true? If so, I would screw things up because I have more fat in lower body than upper. Another question--I'm not sure which category to put myself in, adult, child, or athlete. I am 17.5 years old, and it says child is up to 18, so I'm kind of on the border there. But I also meet their description of athete, 10 or more hours of strenuous activity per week. Measuring myself as a child, I got 14% body fat, as an adult 6.2%, and as an athlete 2.6%. Does anyone know why these results are so different? How does it measure a child differently so much that I get an 8% discrepancy? And which one should I consider most reliable? Thanks very much.

I'm don't know enough about these kind of scales to know why they are different. Try looking at their website for some help. What are your measurements? and what do you do for activity ... it might be easier to categorize yourself that way.
but, 2.6% is obviously wrong!
14% sounds about right for an average child, and 6.2% sounds like a well-oiled athlete.