I tried, but they wouldn't have me!
Ok, that's not what happened: I wrote an email to GE asking if they had a list of places that did composition analysis (the machines are generally used primarily to measure bone density in older women at an insurance covered rate of like $200 a pop)
I also asked if they had any similar info about people who had these GE InBody BIA testers (
http://www3.gehealthcare.com.sg/en-G...sis/InBody_720 ). They do some considerably fancier stuff than the normal ones.
I didn't get any sort of response.
If (and i emphasize the conditional "IF". I'm not telling you what to think or do) you are dissatisfied w/ how your pants fit or you think you have too much fat, but you don't want to drop 10 or 15 lbs because you're worried that you're going to lose hard gained muscle mass and strength... that's when knowing your bodyfat level is useful.
If you're actually 140lbs @ 20%bf then it would be (practically) impossible for you to be 125 lbs and have the same muscle mass you have now (because it would mean being ~10%bf...). But if you're 140lbs at 30%bf then it would be feasible (hypothetical endpoint of ~21.6%bf). If you're 140lbs@35%bf it would be practically a non-issue (hypothetical endpoint of ~27.6%bf).
But yes, otherwise it's not particularly worthwhile, but the same is true of body weight. Some significant number of my friends (half? though mid-30s that fraction has been dropping) don't know or care what they weigh and haven't stepped on a scale in years.
(note to those itching to jump on this: yes i KNOW it would probably not be a straight line from point A to point B and that there is some path dependency, and it depends on program etc, i'm just illustrating a point)