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Weight scale in graphs scientifically incorrect

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beki2020
beki2020 Posts: 2 Member
in Debate Club

Dear all,

How do you feel about the adjusting scale in the weight graphs?

It really bothers me that the graphs display the scale from the highest to the lowest weight, so that the weight axis scale doesn’t start at 0 kg. This makes weight changes seem huge, even though in the bigger picture, it might only be a 0.8 kg difference. Would anyone else prefer the option to zoom in on the graph, or is it just me? I think this other way would be much more intuitive.

Replies

  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,491 Member

    I don't have any issue with how it is now.

    I guess you could make your own spreadsheet to show it differently if you prefer.

  • beki2020
    beki2020 Posts: 2 Member
    edited May 18

    Well yes, but I would like to have all things in one app. Maybe my description of the problem isn't that clear (english is not my first language). This post explains the problem better. The graphs, as they are, make any difference seam greater than it is, in any direction, and that bothers me.

    https://academy.datawrapper.de/article/326-why-our-column-and-bar-charts-start-at-zero

  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,775 Member

    There are many problems with this Free site.

    That one doesn't really bother me very much. You don't have to look at it…and if there are more data points it isn't that noticeable.

    I kind of feel that way about the nutrition charts, but, meh, I got lots bigger things to stress out over.

  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 36,879 Member

    I understand: When people want to misrepresent statistical retails in general, a common distortion is to manipulate values on the axes, including sometimes using a non-zero base.

    But I disagree with you.

    In this case, I think they're doing it right - for my tastes. For most of us, the scale from zero to our highest weight is a big distance. Often, what we care about is relatively small weight changes compared to that total distance. Either we zoom in to get the view MFP's already giving us (most likely) or we can't see the whole distance in useful detail on a single page.

    My weight trending app (Libra) lets me zoom in and out, but never all the way to zero. Even so, if I zoom to the full range my weight has been, there's no useful detail when it's all on one page.

    Screenshot_20250518_085744.jpg
  • springlering62
    springlering62 Posts: 9,652 Member
    edited May 19

    I initially lost 97, and then decided to put weight back on for health reasons, ultimately gaining 20 back.

    I also use the iOS app.

    If I had to scroll up and down to see that jagged of a loss/gain, the graph would be pretty much useless.

    Same for all the “I’m Back!” Posters, who’ve regained, lost, regained. I imagine that would be profoundly demotivating to see it in a bigger format.

    Plus, I would’nt be able to see the peaks and valleys of maintenance very well, because they’d be far subtler in a huge spread. Lord knows, ya gotta track those with an eagle eye.

    As others say, maybe because I’ve been in maintenance for a while, I do look daily, when I weigh, hoping for a small drop I’m working for, but happy if it flatlines versus going up. I’ve got other things to watch- and those are still principally calories and macros.

    I’m not going to gnaw on a bar graph.

    Anyway, I haven’t weighed zero in many years, so no point starting there.

  • angf0679
    angf0679 Posts: 1,462 Member

    I don't mind it. That reminds though, I need to log my weight for this week!

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