Idle curiosity about stones and scales
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lynn_glenmont
Posts: 9,979 Member
For those of you who think about your weight in stones, do the scales in your part of the world (the ones you use at home, at the doctor's, at a pharmacy/chemist's, etc.) give your weight in stones, or do they give it to you in pounds and you have to do the division yourself?
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Replies
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Mine gives stones as I'm in the UK. I convert to pounds on here.0
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My scales display stones and kgs. No calculations necessary.
Why do you ask?0 -
I’m in Canada, grew up in the UK, and think of my weight in stones, track in pounds, and use metric for any other weights.
Some days are so confusing but I just can’t get out of stones when I think of bodyweight.
Lots of apps, and scales give the option of kg, lbs, or st, here.
Cheers, h.3 -
Therealobi1 wrote: »My scales display stones and kgs. No calculations necessary.
Why do you ask?
As I said, just idle curiosity. I guess it was triggered by a post listing the posters weight in stones and ounces, rather than stones and pounds, and I wondered whether it was a mistake or someone obsessing over minor weight fluctuations, and then I wondered whether the scale lists the weight in stones to begin with or the poster got confused in doing the conversion from pounds to stones and pounds ... I wonder a lot
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In case anyone wonders in the opposite direction, I'm in the U.S. where, outside of some medical and medical research situations, most people think of their weight in pounds. Forty to fifty years ago, home scales were analog in pounds only, while a doctor's office (balance scales with lead weights) might show both pounds and kilograms. About 30 years ago, I started seeing analog home scales with smaller markings for kg and larger markings for pounds, but that was pretty short-lived as digital scales took over the market with displays that toggle between pounds and kilograms.3
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I'm 12 stone (or at least I was before Christmas....
)
My scales show my weight in stones, pounds and decimal fractions of pounds.
Or I can switch them to read in kg (useful for holiday suitcase weighing) or to display in pounds.
Never heard anyone in the UK talk about their weight in stones and ounces. More normal would be "I'm 12 and a half stone" or "I'm 12 stone 7" (meaning 12 stones and 7 pounds).6 -
I've always wondered this, OP. Thanks for asking!2
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Slightly off topic comment.........
I am in Australia. We have been metric for decades, nearly half a century, and all scales are in kg.
And people state their weight in kg.
But for some really strange reason many people still state baby birth weights in pounds and ounces - eg 7lb, 5 which would mean 7 pounds, 5 ounces.
I have no idea why this one segment of weight has not become metric in people's minds, although everything else has . ( obviously it has in medical records etc, like everything else)7 -
My scale is programmable - it is set to Kg (world standard unit) but it can be set to use old fashioned units like stones or pound or whatever.
My kitchen scale also has all options and will occasionally all of a sudden flip to non world standard units and that annoys the *kitten* out of me0 -
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I'm 12 stone (or at least I was before Christmas.... )
My scales show my weight in stones, pounds and decimal fractions of pounds.
Or I can switch them to read in kg (useful for holiday suitcase weighing) or to display in pounds.
Never heard anyone in the UK talk about their weight in stones and ounces. More normal would be "I'm 12 and a half stone" or "I'm 12 stone 7" (meaning 12 stones and 7 pounds).
Same as this, i weighed in 10 mins ago...12st 12lbs .2 , it can swtch to kgs but i grew up measuring this way.
Thats my xmas weigh in...up a lb by the way , urgh0 -
The U.K. generally show or use both Imperial and Metric systems.
Milk is sold by the litre but everyone calls it a pint of milk (it’s not!).
You’d ask for a pound of flour but it’s sold in kg bags.
Your doctor will weigh you in kg and you’ll say “what’s that in real money?” (Old joke from decimalisation) and they’ll convert it into stones and pounds for you.
I would always use feet and inches to describe my height, waist measurements.
I have to remember to convert information for MFP challenges and write the date backwards!1 -
paperpudding wrote: »Slightly off topic comment.........
I am in Australia. We have been metric for decades, nearly half a century, and all scales are in kg.
And people state their weight in kg.
But for some really strange reason many people still state baby birth weights in pounds and ounces - eg 7lb, 5 which would mean 7 pounds, 5 ounces.
I have no idea why this one segment of weight has not become metric in people's minds, although everything else has . ( obviously it has in medical records etc, like everything else)
I have often wondered this exact same thing...2 -
Lillymoo01 wrote: »paperpudding wrote: »Slightly off topic comment.........
I am in Australia. We have been metric for decades, nearly half a century, and all scales are in kg.
And people state their weight in kg.
But for some really strange reason many people still state baby birth weights in pounds and ounces - eg 7lb, 5 which would mean 7 pounds, 5 ounces.
I have no idea why this one segment of weight has not become metric in people's minds, although everything else has . ( obviously it has in medical records etc, like everything else)
I have often wondered this exact same thing...
In the UK babies are weighed in hospital at birth and you are given their weight in kg, but people still expect to hear the weight in pounds and ounces so I remember googling to convert my babies’ weights for the birth announcement.
I don’t find it difficult switching between pounds and stones for this site (good for practising your 14 times tables!) but kg is a bit trickier. I generally work off remembering 10 stone/140 pounds/ ~64kg when I’m reading different people’s stats and goals on here.0 -
But for some really strange reason many people still state baby birth weights in pounds and ounces - eg 7lb, 5 which would mean 7 pounds, 5 ounces.
Well, an 8lb baby is relatively average (?), 9lb is large, 7 or 6 lb are small. 5 lb is too low. Mine were mid 6s, a little small but they grew.
I have no idea of kg weights for babies!!0 -
I'm 12 stone (or at least I was before Christmas.... )
My scales show my weight in stones, pounds and decimal fractions of pounds.
Or I can switch them to read in kg (useful for holiday suitcase weighing) or to display in pounds.
Never heard anyone in the UK talk about their weight in stones and ounces. More normal would be "I'm 12 and a half stone" or "I'm 12 stone 7" (meaning 12 stones and 7 pounds).
Here in the US, even suitcases are conventionally weighed in pounds. Last time I looked, usual airline limit was 50lb.
They don't usually weigh the carry-ons, so you can get away with a bit more, as long as you can lift it to the overhead bin with a carefree motion. Good way to surprise one of those nice young men who think a li'l ol' lady needs help, though.
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Im in the US but my scale gives me options of which units to display the weight in.0
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My scale has stones and pounds, pounds, and kilo settings. I use kilos and convert to pounds online--my doctor uses kilos so I like to know what their scale is going to say, but pounds alone are what make sense to me.1
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lynn_glenmont wrote: »
Hahaagree!!
I have a scale from Italy so I’m constantly converting from kilograms. 🤸🏼♂️
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