body fat scales: how accurate are they?
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body fat scales: how accurate are they?
| Thu, 11-02-2006 - 2:51pm |
Does anyone have a scale that monitors body fat? I'm wondering about their accuracy because mine seems to vary from day to day about 4%! That seems very strange. I did a Google search and one article said body fat scales can be off as much at 8% (usually in the upward direction). If that's the case they seem somewhat pointless to me. It's a bit frustrating because I'll

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I'm not sure how "off" they are, although I have read and heard that Tanita scales are most accurate on weight and BF.
Also, I have read that your water levels (in your body), can change your body fat percentage. I also know, with every pound dropped, or gained, my body fat can change. And remember, ALL of these are programmed into the scale, on averages. Which means, they're all off, unless you truly are average.
Remember, scales that measure body fat, do so by sending electricity through your body, sorta. The cat, does have fat. And since you're holding the cat, the cat would've been measured too, NOT just you.
HTH. If you want a true measurement, definitely see a professional (trainer? doctor? someone).
Yeah, I guess since everything is programmed into the scale based on "averages," they would all be off to some extent, because what's "average"?!
What I was thinking was that since the electrical current goes through your bare feet as you stand on the scale, and the cat's feet weren't on the scale, how could it really judge the body fat of the cat? I think the scale just added the weight of the cat to my weight and then averaged out a body fat percentage which seemed "right" for that weight. Which to me exposes the fallacy of the scale's ability to measure body fat, because someone could weigh more than I do but have less body fat, if they were more muscular. I guess I could test this by holding something heavy that doesn't contain body fat (like a heavy box) -- I bet the scale will still measure the body fat at a few percent higher, based on the elevated weight.
You and IG are right, I'm sure having a professional measure it is the most accurate way. I don't really care exactly what it is as long as the general trend is downward, LOL!
Carrie, you may want to get the caliper test done to get a true reading on body fat, and then compare it to what your scale says, then just watch to see that the percentage on the scale keeps moving downwards! That way you will know that you are reducing yoru body fat, but that the actual percentage may be off.
Yeah, I think that is probably the best way Miranda. I did another search last night on the accuracy of body fat scales, and it really sounds like they are all over the place in terms of accuracy ... one person said her trainer measured her at 26% and her scale said 40%! I think they are probably most useful in terms of a general trend upwards or downwards.
I'm going to do an experiment.
also, I wanted to state....that "better" scales will take that into consideration. i.e. my scale allows me to choose my "level of fitness" so if I'm more fit, more muscle, etc. also, you can click on this other thing that allows them to know that you are VERY fit, I would think, more along the lines of cyclists/runners who have very little body fat. so my scale, would be more accurate than a "general" scale, however, yeah, even the instructions in the book say it's not perfect....because they go off of "averages"
my experiment
me alone BF%: yikes 158.8lbs, 36.2%
me w/dog BF: 183.6lbs, 42.6%
me w/object*: 183.8lbs, 42.9%
*object and dog will be same weight
I will not change my personal set-up on the scale. Just to see if it can tell the diff btwn me, me with dog, and me with just extra weight. Here goes.
Great
I have to question their accuracy as well.
I like this website for body fat percentage. Do the second one for a more accurate reading. Measurements required.
http://www.am-i-fat.com/body_fat_percentage.html
Smile,
Deirdre
Hi, thanks for the link! Well, according to the second calculator there, I am at 29%, whereas my scale tells me anything between 31 and 35. I guess the depressing thing is that, according to my scale's calculations, I am "obese" by some charts, and at least "overfat" by all the charts. I can see overfat, but not obese. I'm 5'7", medium-boned, and weigh 155. Thinking I have an amount of body fat that makes me "obese" makes me feel like giving up, especially when I do not see "obese" when I look in the mirror!
I think I'm going to rely more on how I look/feel than on these percentages.