Doing an accurate lab requires many different methods and equations, and for certain labs on body mass studies, that involves a collection of data from a skin fold.  

There are all different types of equations that represent the parts of each individual depending on factors like age, gender and race. 

One day in one of Health and Exercise Professor Andrea Corcoran’s classes, a problem became evident.  One student’s race and ethnicity were not in the textbook or anywhere online for equations. There weren’t any equations made for this person to use.  

“I was mortified because I’m not just going to tell the student just pick something else that’s not you,” Corcoran said in a recent interview.  

That’s when Corcoran decided something needed to change to make sure this wouldn’t happen again.  

“We needed to start collecting data and make our own equations that then sometime in the future, when a student who doesn’t fit into one of the categories for whatever reason… Now we have equations,” she states.  

The equations weren’t quite enough to fulfill Corcoran’s desire to create the most accurate formulas to calculate body fat percentage though.  

Through thorough research, she decided a machine known as the Bod Pod would be the most effectively accurate way to track and calculate someone’s body’s true weight distribution.  

The Bod Pod is a large machine that uses air displacement to determine someone’s body fat percentage and muscle mass to find a true weight.  It sits at about six feet tall and has a simple plastic sitting place inside.  

It’s used to help Corcoran and her classes create the most accurate equations possible while asking everyone who uses the Bod Pod to also do a skin fold. Students are able to use the Bod Pod as a tool for independent research, which two students have done and been able to present their findings at conferences in Springfield, Massachusetts and Washington D.C.

Corcoran said there has also been some public interest of people wanting to use the Bod Pod to simply know their body composition in general. 

“The goal one day is to turn that room into a health and exercise testing center so that not just people on campus, but even in the community, could sign up for a time slot to come and have their body composition done using this super accurate method,” Corcoran states.  

Plans are already being set into motion for the testing center with the sign already hanging on the door. The vision is to have a public pathway into the building and have the room set up like a medical examination room.  The public would be able to book appointments and have their testing done and get their results after calculations are made by students.  

The health and exercise students would be the interns conducting the testing and have the ability to gain in-field knowledge while working with the public on the Bod Pod in this center.  

“This is the only Bod Pod in Vermont,” she said proudly. 

Corcoran is keen on making this available to as many people as possible because of how incredible of an opportunity it is to have the Bod Pod here on campus in such a rural area.  

“The more that we know, the more we know that percent body fat is really important to be thinking about and body composition in general and not just the value on the scale, because the scale doesn’t tell you whether you have body fat or muscle mass, so it’s kind of a key part on a health journey,” she states.

The two-part renovation needed for the Bod Pod to become publicly accessible has already begun with the second part of the renovation hopefully coming over the summer of 2025, she said.