Bodymapp is the top 3D body scanning app for iPhone. With just your device and a good internet connection, you can complete a full body scan anytime, anywhere. Tracking up to 20 different metrics, including BMI, body fat percentage, waist measurement with an easy-to-use app.
Whether you’re trying to get in shape to improve (or maintain) your health, or training for a competition, or a specific fitness goal, it can be hard to keep track of the myriad different statistics. Oftentimes, people (such as myself) will simply focus on the overall weight, or BMI, to the exclusion of anything else.
Enter fitness apps. They’re quick, easy-to-use, and convenient, and provide a lot of information at your fingertips. But most of them also require YOU to enter the data. On the flip side, you have bulky machines like Rapid Bioscan that could scan your body and tell you where you needed to focus, but those machines weren’t easily portable, and were costly to purchase.
Enter BodyMapp, a 3D scanner which uses your smartphones infrared sensors to accurately measure your body. BodyMapp is different from its competitors because it uses infrared sensors to preserve your privacy when generating the body map (no pictures are taken), and provides you with a detailed health report, posture analysis, and somatic type recommendations.
Using Bodymapp, it’s easy to measure your fitness progress, and to set goals, while offering an easy and engaging way for people to monitor their health. It doesn’t take up any space (besides your smartphone), and costs nothing upfront (though there is a subscription service with more features that I’ll talk about below) so you can try it for yourself to see if it suits you.
First Scan
Getting started is straight forward. Download the app, create an account, and you get your first scan for free. The App walks you through the process completely, showing full video demonstrations of how to place your phone (for both upper body and lower body) and how to stand. During the scan itself, the app sounds an audible beep to let you know to turn 90 degrees so it can scan a full 360 degrees).
For a first time user, it takes about three to four minutes for the scan to be complete (including the tutorial videos). Then it takes a few minutes longer to compile the 3D avatar of your body, and provide you with the results.
After my first scan, I did get a bit of amusement when my 3D avatar possessed a shark fin added to my back. But, on subsequent scans, the app did seem to ‘learn’ my body and get more precise in the measurements.
And, to test how accurate it was against a bulky bodyscanning machine, I paid for a scan from a BodyMapp competitor, and compared the figures. I was quite surprised to note that BodyMapp IS quite accurate (at least once it got rid of the shark fin) – surprising given Bodymapp uses the iPhone infrared sensor, as compared to electric pulses to determine body fat percentages etc.
To give an idea of just how accurate, it was within 1-2cm for all body sizes, and less than 1% difference in the overall body fat statistic. That said, the scans do rely on the quality of the iPhone infrared sensor, AND how closely you follow the instructions on the scan (possibly user error in the first time scan was the cause of the shark fin addition) so your results may vary, especially if you have one of the older supported iPhones.
The health report
With every scan you get a detailed health report. This report not only has key metrics like body fat percentage, and waist to height ratios, it also has a posture analysis, recommendations on your somato type, and provides a ranking analysis on how you compare to the rest of the population that have used the app. Bodymapp also provides guidance on what sort of foods you should eat, and the exercises that you should focus on.
The advantage of Bodymapp is that you can use this health report to set personalised fitness goals – not simply “I want to get stronger, or fitter” but focused on “I’d like to reduce body fat percentage by X%”. A Bodymapp Health Report sample is available here.
The app will then use push notifications to help keep you on track for your goals. If you achieve your goal, the app will let you know, and will invite you to set a new one.
The best thing about this is that it tracks your incremental changes. Because lets face it, no one wakes up in the morning 20kg’s heavier and unfit. It’s a process that happened over time, unnoticed, because you despite seeing yourself in the mirror every morning, the changes were gradual. And the reverse is true too. It can be incredibly disheartening going to the gym at 5am in the cold several times a week, and not see a noticeable difference in yourself.
But Bodymapp goes beyond the superficial, and will SHOW you the changes you haven’t noticed – a decrease in body fat percentage, an increase in muscle, the slight slimming around your stomach and thighs. And coming from someone who HATES exercising in the early morning (especially if it’s cold out), it was surprising how effective those little figure changes were at motivating me to keep going.
You can also integrate Bodymapp with Apple Health for seamless measurement tracking.
The premium membership
While Bodymapp offers the first scan for free and will provide a 3D avatar and limited body measurements, there is a premium plan. This features:
- Unlimited 3D body scans to track health and fitness, or weight loss programs.
- Interactive 3D avatars of your body changes before, after, and everywhere in between.
- 20 body and health metrics, including BMI, ideal weight range, body fat percentage, waist-hip ratio, fat free mass, chest, biceps, hip sizes etc.
- In-depth reports about your body type, posture, rankings and more for personalised fitness recommendations.
- Goal setting and personalisation.
- Comparison views and graphs.
The premium subscription costs $9.99 per month, or $79.99 per year (currently) and can be cancelled at any time.
Final thoughts
If you are looking for an easy-to-use, accurate body scanning and fitness app that is affordable, you can’t go wrong with Bodymapp. With all the features and functions of full sized body scanning machines in the palm of your hand, it’s well worth checking out if you own an iPhone or iPad.
I’d like to thank Bodymapp for the free premium account for the months it has taken me to test and review, and my fiancée who loaned me the her iPhone so I could try the Bodymapp app.
