Nokia Body scale worth it?

Jenniferakajacel311

Hello everyone

I currently track my weight with a scale provided to me by an employer-sponsered software/program. It is a very basic scale but I like that it automatically updates it to their software.

Problem is I'm not sure how much longer my work will be paying for my involvement.

My family and I are considering investing in a Nokia Body for all 7 of us to have the ability to use. Are these types of scales worth it? Or are they a waste of money?

Looking for feedback from those who use them (and possibly link them with a weight tracking app).

Thanks,
Jennifer

cwolfman13

Value is in the eye of the beholder I suppose...but I'd personally say waste of money. I guess the whole -Wi-Fi connectivity thing is kinda cool but I can just as easily manually put my weight into trend app.

In terms of BF%, those measurements aren't accurate. They're so wildly inaccurate that Consumer Reports stopped reviewing BF scales altogether. There are any number of things that throw off their accuracy from calluses on the foot to not being able to tell the difference between water and fat...

fuzzylop72

I have a nokia body, and I like it (and use it with both trendweight and happyscale). It's just a scale, and if it eases tracking your progress, then I think it's worth it. I don't personally think the body+ (or any bia based measuring) is worth an additional cost, so I only have the basic nokia body.

I like that it automatically updates via wifi and mfp, trendweight, happyscale, and presumably libra all sync instantly.

Tacklewasher

Rumour has it Nokia is dropping all the support for these.

https://www.theverge.com/2018/2/15/17016604/nokia-health-tech-strategic-review-trouble

So, having owned a Withings scale for about a year now and really liking it, no, don't buy one right now. It may lose it's connectivity if Nokia shuts it down in the near future.

stanmann571

I think they're worth it, the question is which brand.

As above, make sure that the scale you pick will be supported for a while. I like the automation and convenience, but the one I use is slowly having support withdrawn, meaning I'll be needing to find a new scale by and by.

Jenniferakajacel311

Wow, so thankful to have your replies before we spend $60!

Meelisv

Yeah, it is quite cheap for it's specs now, but future support (specially cloud syncing services) are in doubt for now.
As far as smart scales go, Fitbit Aria and Garmin Index are probably the best choices now. Perhaps UA scale too, since as owner of MFP they very likely make sure that syncing with MFP stays alive.

On the other hand if it doesn't seem like too much work to take those few seconds and record your results manually, then something proven but not connected like my favourite Omron BF511 would be good choice too.

Jenniferakajacel311

Thank you, Meelisv. I looked up the scale you mentioned and that's definitely in the running for my next scale purchase. Very cool!

aokoye

Honestly if you want something that syncs with various websites go with either the Garmin or the Fitbit. I have the Nokia scale (which I bought before the buyout when it was still Withings). While it works well, if I had a choice now I'd go with the Garmin because I have faith that Garmin isn't going to stop supporting it and because I already use a handful of Garmin products thus make use of Garmin Connect. If I used fitbit products I'd go with the Aria.

If I didn't care about internet connectivity I'd probably go with an Omron.

melissa6771

I just bought the Nokia body plus scale. I like it. I would've bought the high end tanita but it was expensive. Got this for $80 from bed bath and beyond and of for some reason they stop supporting it I will return it. I know Nokia dropped one thing from the high end scale and they offered a refund to people directly because of it too. I don't see how they could stop supporting a scale but I'll deal with it when and if it happens. It syncs with the my weight app which I love

DX2JX2

The Garmin scale is questionable. It's the most expensive and functionality is a little suspect. It can only handle one measurement per day and cannot be used by anybody who does not maintain an account on Garmin connect. There are ways to make it work but it's really kind of a pain in the butt (e.g., setting up dummy Garmin accounts, etc.).

Basically, way too much work for a friggin' scale. Save the money and get something else instead.

aokoye

DX2JX2 wrote: »

The Garmin scale is questionable. It's the most expensive and functionality is a little suspect. It can only handle one measurement per day and cannot be used by anybody who does not maintain an account on Garmin connect. There are ways to make it work but it's really kind of a pain in the butt (e.g., setting up dummy Garmin accounts, etc.).

Basically, way too much work for a friggin' scale. Save the money and get something else instead.

Is not the essentially the same deal with the Fitbit scale? If you want to sync it with anything you need a Fitbit account. Nokia's scale is the same way (and I find their UI worse than Garmin's which is saying something) except Garmin is a more stable company.

PAV8888

I have an Aria. I have also used at least two other BIA measurement scales. You get the feeling that when you see your body fat change you're getting some insight/information. If any measurement is off, at least the trend is good, right?

However the reality is that the BIA scales have so much error that they are useless in what they are purporting to measure. Their general trends tend to correlate more with body weight than with actual fat/lean mass change. So no, they can't tell you whether you are losing 4:1 fat to lean mass or 2:1 fat to lean mass. Which makes them essentially a nice piece of noise generating equipment which I, like many others, dutifully record in my app hoping it means something... while continuing to find out that it doesn't [while I was playing with BIA scales I was also playing with DEXA scans... my stats knowledge is not good enough to find out how well the measurements corresponded to each other.. but my eyeballs say: not at all! <OK they were all going down while weight was going down but the rate and type of changes shown by BIA wasn't related to what was being shown by DEXA>]

As to the "benefit" of automated recording? Well... I disconnected mine because of poor wi-fi coverage in the bathroom... and never bothered reconnecting it. The time it takes to record a weight measurement in the fitbit app is negligible compared to the total time spent there looking at stats, or exercise, or heart rate, or...

Of course, if you are the official record keeper and no one else will record their own weight by themselves, then yes, for multiple people I would think that automatic connection and updates to individual accounts would be worth the money.

1houndgal

I think I will stick with the cheap ww scale I bought at costco. No thrills, bells and whistles.

DX2JX2

aokoye wrote: »

DX2JX2 wrote: »

The Garmin scale is questionable. It's the most expensive and functionality is a little suspect. It can only handle one measurement per day and cannot be used by anybody who does not maintain an account on Garmin connect. There are ways to make it work but it's really kind of a pain in the butt (e.g., setting up dummy Garmin accounts, etc.).

Basically, way too much work for a friggin' scale. Save the money and get something else instead.

Is not the essentially the same deal with the Fitbit scale? If you want to sync it with anything you need a Fitbit account. Nokia's scale is the same way (and I find their UI worse than Garmin's which is saying something) except Garmin is a more stable company.

I'm not sure about the functionality of the other scales as I only have the Garmin (and a cheaper, not as smart scale before that). I do know that the Garmin is the most expensive of the bunch and is by no means worth the price premium IMO (whether you believe that these type of scales are worth any price premium at all over a weight only model is a different story altogether).

To be honest, I stopped looking at the non-weight metrics after a few weeks. It's fairly meaningless given the inaccuracy of the method. Some may say that the data can be used to build a trend but that's bunk as any trend you get will more or less mirror your overall weight loss results.