Scale that reads body fat

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Are these generally accurate?

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  • macchiatto
    macchiatto Posts: 2,890 Member
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    Not that accurate, though I've heard people say they can be helpful for tracking a trend.
    Mine still thinks I have around 31% body fat at 5'7" and 130 lbs. I suppose it's possible but other methods (calipers, etc.) put me around 26-27%. It definitely went down when I lost 23 lbs though. I forget the exact number but it was in the high 30s 23 lbs ago.
    My understanding is the way they work, they really only measure body half in the lower half of your body. I wonder if these can throw off the numbers depending on how you carry your weight. I think that might be a factor for me.
  • sunnybeaches105
    sunnybeaches105 Posts: 2,831 Member
    edited March 2016
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    Pretty much so inaccurate to be completely useless. The couple I've owned couldn't even track a trend.

    ETA: If you're a low enough bodyfat percentage to start really measuring that then use callipers. Prior to that just use selfies (and continue to use them when you are using callipers), you will easily be able to track the differences using this method.
  • Dominicj569
    Dominicj569 Posts: 30 Member
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    I would argue they are accurate enough.
    What do you want them for is the question.

    If you keep telling yourself, "its mostly muscle", they are accurate enough to say "no it b****y isnt"
  • macchiatto
    macchiatto Posts: 2,890 Member
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    I actually wondered this recently b/c my goal has shifted from a goal scale number to a goal body fat percentage (24%; I'd love to be in the "fitness" range!) so I read this:
    http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2011/08/bod-pod-consumer-scale-comparison-tests_25.html
  • shennard80
    shennard80 Posts: 23 Member
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    I find they track your trend quite well if you use them correctly. It works by sending an electrical current through your body and it's measured based on the time it takes to get back to the scale. The current travels at a different speed through water. So, just like the scale weight you have to use it under the same body conditions or you'll get wildly different results. You'll need to track weight / BF% together and if you see weight change drastically one day (probably because of water weight) you'll probably see a wild change in the %.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    Generally accurate? No. Some may give you a reasonable trend if you can work it out from the noise of day to day fluctuations (mostly hydration related). Had some Omron ones with both hand and foot sensors (so at least virtually whole body is assessed). They agreed pretty much with BodPod measurements.

    What you can't do is just randomly step on and know with any degree of certainty that reading is anywhere accurate.
    So if you want to know if you are 15 or 17% they aren't really gone to be much help.
    If you want to (if you are lucky with the model selected) see a trend over months then they are cheap and convenient.

    I've currently got some scales that make me 35% BF and number went up as I've got leaner.
    As useful as a chocolate teapot.......

    My suggestion would be to use tape measure, mirror and photos.
  • G8rRay
    G8rRay Posts: 89 Member
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    I use an old Omron BFH-500 bathroom scale that produces readings both for %BF (body fat) and %MM (muscle mass); both readings fluctuate with hydration and with body weight. I've been recording those daily for more than five years. Recently, I decided to convert those percentages to pounds, based upon that day's weight in pounds; and, I discovered that, although they may fluctuate with that day's weight, the converted readings appear to be a fairly accurate trending tool--which is for what I had been using it, anyway.
  • Dominicj569
    Dominicj569 Posts: 30 Member
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    "What you can't do is just randomly step on and know with any degree of certainty that reading is anywhere accurate.
    So if you want to know if you are 15 or 17% they aren't really gone to be much help."

    True enough, but 15% or 20% they will give you a fair crack at a good answer.
    I'm at 23% at the moment, that might be 21%, it might be 25%, but its reasonably accurate
  • BeYouTiful94
    BeYouTiful94 Posts: 289 Member
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    Accurate? Lol no. Precise? IMO, yes.

    By that, I mean: I have a scale that measures BF, water, muscle, and bone density via BIA. When I first stepped on and it gave me a percentage, I would in no way take that to the bank. But as I've stepped on other times, at 8 am after I've gone to the restroom before I've eaten and with all clothing removed, I've seen a general trends that would suggest a degree of precision. For instance, I've lost 14 pounds and started incorporating strength training. I noticed as I lost weight, BF went down. So did MM until I realized my protein was too low and that I should incorporate some strength training. Since, I've seen a .3% increase in MM along with leaner-looking progress pics and a lower BF reading. Likewise, I notice that when it's around "my time" and my weight goes up, my TBW reading also goes up. A few days later, TBW drops and I lose several pounds. The numbers are probably several percent off, but they are consistently that several percent off, which is all I need. I use it as a general tool to gauge my progress, not as a for sure, written in stone measure.

    I will say that a LOT of the reviews I saw on Amazon for every BIA scale mentioned that those who are more athletic or who are lower in body fat will get crazy wild readings, even on the athlete mode.
  • HutchA12
    HutchA12 Posts: 279 Member
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    Mines been acurate enough. It's stayed in the same range as a few other methods. It's does the bf%, hydration, muscle mass, bone, bmi breakdown. When I set it up you have to make a profile with sex, age, height, there is athletic/normal, then it takes your weight.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,480 Member
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    Mine has varied as much as a couple of percent from one day to the next, which seems pretty unlikely to be accurate. The general direction/magnitude of the trend seems to track with my weight, from "stand back and squint at it" perspective.
  • melissa6771
    melissa6771 Posts: 894 Member
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    I have a tanita one that is pretty accurate. The only accurate way to get it done is in the water tank or a pod. Calipers, for the most part, are not accurate. It's just a person using a caliper on chosen points of your body. When I used to get mine done in the water every 12 weeks, it was pretty much in line with my Tanita one if it was on the athlete setting.
  • paulandrachelk
    paulandrachelk Posts: 280 Member
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    Have had three body comp scales. Tanita good but not much data. Taylor had lots of data but WAY high on body fat-10 % over calipers. Love new omron- lots of data and bf is reasonable. Also measures through whole body.
  • GaleHawkins
    GaleHawkins Posts: 8,160 Member
    edited March 2016
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    I find my < $30 Health-O-Meter model BFM081DQ-63 scales readout BMI, % of Fat, % of hydration daily calories to eat to be relative accurate for the past 5 years.

    walmart.com/ip/Healthometer-Glass-Body-Fat-Bath-Scale-with-Daily-Caloric-Intake-Athlete-Mode-BMI-and-Hydration-Level/14706457
  • senecarr
    senecarr Posts: 5,377 Member
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    I find my < $30 Health-O-Meter model BFM081DQ-63 scales readout BMI, % of Fat, % of hydration daily calories to eat to be relative accurate for the past 5 years.

    walmart.com/ip/Healthometer-Glass-Body-Fat-Bath-Scale-with-Daily-Caloric-Intake-Athlete-Mode-BMI-and-Hydration-Level/14706457

    What do you measure its accuracy against?