Body Fat Percentage Weight Scales?

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Replies

  • Lois_1989
    Lois_1989 Posts: 6,410 Member
    edited March 2015
    I have a Withing Smart Body Analyzer. At 214.7lbs it says I am 46.2%. I am now 212.8lbs and it says I am 45.3% so it seems to be going down with my weight, but I couldn't tell you if it is accurate. Plus it is linked up with MFP so I can't cheat when I put on weight. :disappointed: They are expensive, but i got it on Black Friday. :smile:
  • trigden1991
    trigden1991 Posts: 4,658 Member
    "Home" bodyfat scales rely on electric impulses so can be affected by hydration levels. The only accurate way is a DEXA scan or calipers (if you are relatively lean to start with).
  • Whitezombiegirl
    Whitezombiegirl Posts: 1,042 Member
    I have a Tanita Inner scan. I love it. It does flucuate over the days but overall I like to see the trend going down. The reference material that comes with it says that it is less accurate for woemen due to more water rtention but to track it over a few months to note your own trends. I have used mine for 4 years now and I do note that at similar weights my fat % has been generally the same as the last time I was that weight- don't know if that makes it more reliable or not- yvmd. I like mine though. (Most of my family have a go on it now an again too)
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    I had a set on Omron 4 point BIA scales (so at least it measures full body unlike the handheld units) and found that it gave a pretty reasonable trend which also agreed with the numbers from 6 monthly BodPod scans.
    They were of course subject to fluctuations so have to be used at a consistent time of day and under same conditions to see a trend over time. For example an afternoon reading could be 3% higher than a first thing in the morning reading on the same day.

    You absolutely can't just step on them once in a blue moon and expect a reliable number - using a handheld unit in a gym is just about the worst way to get a sensible reading from BIA scales.

    I've also tried some that gave me over 30% BF - I really hope that's not true!
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    sijomial wrote: »
    I had a set on Omron 4 point BIA scales (so at least it measures full body unlike the handheld units) and found that it gave a pretty reasonable trend which also agreed with the numbers from 6 monthly BodPod scans.
    They were of course subject to fluctuations so have to be used at a consistent time of day and under same conditions to see a trend over time. For example an afternoon reading could be 3% higher than a first thing in the morning reading on the same day.

    You absolutely can't just step on them once in a blue moon and expect a reliable number - using a handheld unit in a gym is just about the worst way to get a sensible reading from BIA scales.

    I've also tried some that gave me over 30% BF - I really hope that's not true!

    LOL Si .. looks at reading.. checks profile shot... looks at reading again...checks profile shot again..checks profile shot again..checks profile shot again..catches self staring.. slaps self..


  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    edited March 2015
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    sijomial wrote: »
    I had a set on Omron 4 point BIA scales (so at least it measures full body unlike the handheld units) and found that it gave a pretty reasonable trend which also agreed with the numbers from 6 monthly BodPod scans.
    They were of course subject to fluctuations so have to be used at a consistent time of day and under same conditions to see a trend over time. For example an afternoon reading could be 3% higher than a first thing in the morning reading on the same day.

    You absolutely can't just step on them once in a blue moon and expect a reliable number - using a handheld unit in a gym is just about the worst way to get a sensible reading from BIA scales.

    I've also tried some that gave me over 30% BF - I really hope that's not true!

    LOL Si .. looks at reading.. checks profile shot... looks at reading again...checks profile shot again..checks profile shot again..checks profile shot again..catches self staring.. slaps self..


    Far better to just get naked and jump in front of a mirror
    Happy to help you out with an estimate! My email for photos is... dirtyoldman@ishouldbesolucky.com

    :smiley:
  • kazminchu
    kazminchu Posts: 250 Member
    I use cheap bodyfat scales from Amazon - they cost me around £10 so you know they're high quality.

    However, I have noticed that since I've been back from hiatus and putting more effort in, my fat percentage has been dropping. Slowly, but surely.

    I'm going to ask the guy at my gym to do a calliper test on me to find out how accurate they are, but to be honest I'm not going to get hung up over exact percentages, as long as they're heading in the right direction.

    Therefore my recommendation would be - get whichever one you fancy. Weigh yourself in the same place, wearing the same thing (preferably nothing), and at the same time, and watch the trends.
  • canary_girl
    canary_girl Posts: 366 Member
    I have an Aria and it doesn't seem to work. When I first set it up with hubby it gave me a BF reading that seemed accurate. Then something went wrong and my info is erased and whenever I weigh it thinks I am DH and that my BF is like 10%. I feel like if it were sending electric impulses my BF would be the same as it was. And DH is getting tired of gaining and losing 80lbs..
  • Zedeff
    Zedeff Posts: 651 Member
    jeffchieh wrote: »
    I have an Ozeri Touch scale and been using it to track my progress. I started at 14.7% and it's been decreasing every week I use it, so it's at least accurate to itself.

    Regarding precision, I had a hydrostatic body comp done and it said my BF% was 11.7%, compared to that same morning where my Ozeri said 12.3%. Not too far off!

    That being said, I'll probably use it mostly for deltas in comparison to itself.

    Sorry for the pedantry, but you've got the terms backwards. The first scenario ("the scale always measures in the same range and decreases as I lose weight") is actually a measure of precision. The second scenario ("the scale agrees with an external gold-standard measure") is a measure of accuracy.

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  • amitkatz0
    amitkatz0 Posts: 61 Member
    Get a tape measure instead and check your waistline. Cheap, accurate, reliable, and is a way better indication of how your health is perceived by others.
  • dixiewhiskey
    dixiewhiskey Posts: 3,333 Member
    edited March 2015
    I would save your money - get a regular scale (digital or dial), calipers or a soft measuring tape. Body fat percentage scales are very inaccurate.. the most inaccurate out of all three options I mentioned.

    There is someone on here who lost 17 lbs recently and freaked out because his BF% scale said he was the same BF% as when he started. He obviously lost a percentage of fat out of the 17lbs. Something to think about
  • amitkatz0
    amitkatz0 Posts: 61 Member
    Pu_239 wrote: »
    lmjohnson110 wrote: »
    I have an Aria and it doesn't seem to work. When I first set it up with hubby it gave me a BF reading that seemed accurate. Then something went wrong and my info is erased and whenever I weigh it thinks I am DH and that my BF is like 10%. I feel like if it were sending electric impulses my BF would be the same as it was. And DH is getting tired of gaining and losing 80lbs..

    Height also plays a role as well, that's why you input your height.

    From an example i used earlier. " 0% body fat it takes 0 seconds for it to go from point A to point B, 100% fat it takes 10 seconds to go from point A to point B. Someone stands on it, it takes 5 seconds to go from point A to point B, so they're 50% body fat."

    Imagine if that's example is on a 6ft person. Now imagine a person who is 3 ft(just an example for easy math) the current will travel back sooner. Giving a lower body fat %. In this case it should read 25% body fat compared to 50% body fat.

    The height is used to estimate your lean mass, it doesn't affect the current "speed". Electric current is incredibly fast, a few feet aren't going to change anything.
  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
    Our registered dietitian at work has a very expensive model. Not sure on which one. It's like Pro grade looking though gave me a 27.5% bf rating. Stepped off, stepped back on and got a 7.0% bf rating... third time...10.5. I'm sure it was a fluke, but it rubbed me the wrong way on those things.
  • steffenson
    steffenson Posts: 312 Member
    I have one which I use daily, mainly for personal entertainment. It does generally track trends but it helps to know what can throw off the readings.
    If I measure first thing in the morning then (being dehydrated) the reading is about 2% higher then a reading last thing the night before. As session at the gym (lifting heavy weights) will also increase the reading by about 2% for a couple days as your muscles heal themselves, but even if I do lots of cardio it does not seem to go up.
    I have also found there to be a difference between the hand held and scale bf% machine (though both test with biometric impedance). Scale with give me a higher reading post workout while the handheld gives lower.
    Measuring first thing AM is a good way to establish a baseline but for me I am currently getting a reading about 4-5% higher then I actually am.
  • xmarye
    xmarye Posts: 385 Member
    I have a scale I got from the pharmacy. It was about $30 and it records your weight, body fat, muscle mass, bone density and water retention. It's been working well for me :) And I found it to be really consistant as well with the numbers it gave me.
  • gamagem
    gamagem Posts: 87 Member
    I have a tanita scale that puts me at 37.5% body fat. My hand held Omiron puts me at 28.1% body fat. 2 weeks ago I had my body fat tested using the hydrostatic method (dunked in water) and I was at 28.2% body fat. I'd have to say the hand held seems to be more accurate. I have the hand held set to athletic , since I exercise pretty heavy 5 days a week.

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