A white, 5-foot-5-inch orb-like structure sits out of place among the scales, measurement tools, shelving units, computers and common office materials in Room 227 of UF's Food Science and Human Nutrition building.
Although it looks like something from a sci-fi movie, the instrument, called the Bod Pod, measures body composition through air displacement, said Karla Shelnutt, a human nutrition assistant professor.
Although there are other Bod Pods on campus, Shelnutt said, researchers currently are using the instrument in the nutrition building for two studies regarding body fat.
This Bod Pod cost about $45,000 and was funded through research money and grants, Shelnutt said.
The first study considers body mass index, or BMI, while the second looks at a new measure, body adiposity index, or BAI.
BAI is considered more accurate than BMI, according to a recent article in the journal Obesity.
Shelnutt's two-part study will look to see if the measurement is accurate for college students.
The BAI and the BMI measurements will be compared against those of the Bod Pod, which currently is the "gold standard" of body fat measurement, Shelnutt said.
BMI doesn't work for lean athletes and people with high muscle mass, said 23-year-old Blake Bartholomew, a nutrition master's student who has been working on the study.
"Tim Tebow's BMI was [30]," Bartholomew said. "If you look at that on the BMI scale it would say that he is obese, which he clearly is not."
Having excess body fat increases the risk for diabetes, heart disease and other conditions, Shelnutt said.
She said the goal of the study is not about weight loss.
"It's about healthy lifestyles, eating better food and being more physically active so students can be healthier and live a longer and better life," Shelnutt said.
The study is open to all students, Shelnutt said.
Participants will receive a printout of their body composition on the spot, Shelnutt said.
Bartholomew was curious to use the instrument not only because of its accuracy but also because he thought it looked interesting.
He compared the inside of the Bod Pod to the inside of an egg but with a window.
"It looks like a spaceship and an egg mixed together," he said. "It's odd looking."
For more information on the Bod Pod and participation in the studies, email ufbmistudy@gmail.com.
Food science graduate student Adam Knox, 23, sits in the Bod Pod as nutrition graduate student Blake Bartholomew, 23, explains how to use the breathing tube inside of the pod in order to properly calculate total body fat percentage.
