The importance of a "BMI Scale"

So here is what I will do for you! I am FAT....not just overweight, but have given up my exercise due to a nasty divorce. Now I am at the point where I want....want...to take care of ME.

A experiment is just the thing I need to get my fat *kitten* off the couch.

Can you reccommend a scale under 50 bux? I will weigh in once a week, log my food and exercise here, and also let you know my 'scale' weight.

Will be interesting to see how it works. My BFP with the trainer and calipers (she admits she sux at the calipers) was *gulp* 44%. That will go down very quickly with exercise, weight lifting and eating foods good for my body.

Any suggestions for my experiment?

Do body fat scales not give you an indication though? every measuring tool has a range of 'error' that is acceptable but surely it's better to have an 'idea' of your body fat reading if you can't access something like a bodypod?

I have a scale that measures body fat. It says my body fat percentage is 34%. Every other test I have done, between my gym, my doctor, and even online calculators all put my body fat at about 22%. I'd call that way beyond a reasonable range of error.

Also, these scales have a terrible time trying to differentiate between water and fat. Your hydration level has a huge impact on the reading on these scales

And finally, Body Mass Index has absolutely nothing to do with body fat. Its just a ratio between height and weight, it doesn't take body composition into account at all, and has even been stated by the creator as being absolutely useless to an individual, it's only useful for the purpose it was designed, which is large population studies.

I have some questions. How tall are you. What is your muscle mass. For a guy that weights 224 lbs must be very strong. I remember being 24% body fat and I also remember the belly that I had. Now my BMI scale says 12.6% body fat and my stomach is virtually flat with some fairly good abs definition. For you to weight 224 lbs would mean that you are 6' 8" or very, very big muscular body. Arnold Schartenegger Weight: 235 pounds; Height: 6 feet 2 inches. I weigh 177.6 and 5' 11"

Well, calculate me. 175lbs, 5'7". My $93 craptastic bodyfat scale still can't tell me within any reasonable margin what my body fat percentage is...but for the most part it agrees with itself that I'm somewhere between 29% and 40%, during any given 5 minutes. They're a hoax. The only way they're even repeatable if you step on, then off again, is because the less expensive ones have a memory...so you think you got an accurate measurement. Mine varies as much as 11% from ONE measurement, step off...then step on for the NEXT measurement.

My calipers tell me I'm 18% right now...no matter how many times I measure. Matter of fact, the more times you measure, the closer to accurate my $8 calipers from Amazon will be once you've averaged the numbers.

Imagine that.

By the way...sorry for the absolutely blatant sarcasm...but this whole thread is full of misinformation...and you've repeatedly ignored anyone trying to tell you so in anything resembling a polite manner, while latching on to anyone who even remotely seems to be agreeing with you.

So I simply thought I'd try another angle.

Oh yeah, not only does my scale tell me my body fat percentage is 12% higher than every other test, it tells me I'm chronically dehydrated as well. My blood work and urinalysis disagrees with the scale. From what I've read, most of these scales are off by about 10-15%.

Oh, and $40 IS a cheap electronic scale. Top of the line models will run in the hundreds of dollars.

Also reducing the reliability of this method is the variation between models of the BIA devices: for instance when comparing outputs from a Tanita scale to an Omron Body Logic handheld device the Tanita scale overestimated the percentage body fat in college-aged men by 40% and in college-aged women by 55%

I'm not talking anecdotal evidence. The method that the scales use is inaccurate, so the scales themselves, by default, are not accurate. That's the only point I'm trying to make. Most of these types of scales have trouble telling the difference between body fat and water. Also, sometimes they recognize some internal organs as fat. Like I said, my particular scale happens to measure my body fat 12% higher and my hydration level about 12% lower, so it's a wash. However, if my scale didn't give hydration numbers and just body fat, I'd never know that, and if I had never tested any other method, I'd have a very incorrect view of my body composition. Information is power, and more information is always better than less information.

Aren't you confusing BMI with body fat percentage? Your BMI doesn't tell you anything about how much fat, LBM or bone you have. It just looks at your height and weight.

servilia-

You are correct - my bad! I meant body fat percentage, not "BMI". Thanks for pointing that out.

However, I stand by my 'snake oil' assesment of the Tanita body fat scale. Those little foot electrode thingies do NOTHING to measure actual body fat percentage. If they did, I wouldn't be able to "fool" it by picking up a pair of dumbells and artificially increasing my weight reading. Afterall, my actual body fat percentage shouldn't have changed just because I'm holding a dumbell in each hand.

no I wasn't referring to you sorry - it was meant for the OP

I own a body fat scale and Omron body fat/bmi handheld monitor. Some scales you buy in the store gives you both your body fat percentage and bmi. Your bmi is simply a ratio between your height and weight. I can give you the formula to get your own bmi.

All body fat percentage method has error. Bodpod, even dunk test aren't 100% accurate. Caliper testing isn't 100% accurate.

I trust my scale and handheld monitor.