Body fat scale ?'s

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charleigh78
charleigh78 Posts: 247 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So I had been eyeing one on amazon for a while. Then my scale died and I jumped all over the excuse to order it. It has over 1,000 reviews and rated almost 5 stars. I was super excited to get it in, but now i dont Know what to think? It said that I have 27.9% body fat. At 5'4.5" and 187 pounds, I think it should be higher than that. So I wonder what is making it miscalculate? Could it be because all of my fat is in my middle and it calculates off the legs (my legs and ankles are slim), or could it be that it is just wacko, or could it be that because I have eaten a super clean paleo diet for almost 2 years that I feel super fat because of the fact that it is all centralized to my mid section, but that the scale is actually accurate?

Agh! I have no idea....what do y'all think?

Replies

  • MomOfRose
    MomOfRose Posts: 89 Member
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    I'm 5'4", 171 and my scale said 35.8% this morning. How is it measuring it? Mine has metal strips on the outside edges that run and small (can't feel it) current through my feet and measures body fat % and water weight % based on the speed of return.
  • charleigh78
    charleigh78 Posts: 247 Member
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    I'm 5'4", 171 and my scale said 35.8% this morning. How is it measuring it? Mine has metal strips on the outside edges that run and small (can't feel it) current through my feet and measures body fat % and water weight % based on the speed of return.

    It is supposed to have a current too? See, I was thinking my fat % would be more like 40%?
  • Dougf90
    Dougf90 Posts: 95 Member
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    I'm pretty sure the scales that measure bf% work just like the handheld ones, which are pretty much useless. If you hold the thing close to your body an obese person can get a single digit bf% reading... the further away will give you the opposite effect.
  • birdiecs
    birdiecs Posts: 237 Member
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    Pretty much most methods of measuring bodyfat besides Dexa scans are hit and miss. Scales being less accurate than calipers. The best thing to do is pick one method and use that to gauge percentage loss, but don't rely on it to be accurate, if that makes sense.
  • Emmie112
    Emmie112 Posts: 121 Member
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    My scale at home over calculates my body fat by 3% compared to the scale at the gym or clipper measurements. But it's always off so it works as a good baseline
  • charleigh78
    charleigh78 Posts: 247 Member
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    Thanks ya'll. I simply won't depend on it to be accurate. I wonder if it will be consistent though? If I lose body fat, will it show that accurately even though the starting percentage is low? Hmmmm....I think I will rely on weight and tape measure as my main source of feedback.

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