Are Body Fat Scales Useless?

The one thing about the hand-held fat reader at the gym is that they always ask your age. If I tell them the truth, my body fat comes back higher. If I give them my age of 10 years ago, it comes back with a different measurement.

I thought it only measured fat percentage. Why should age have anything to do with it? Just put in your height and weight and it should be the same reading regardless of age! Do you have a solution?

I’ve just been going with scale weight combined with waist measurements take bi weekly, i know it’s old but seems quite effective at tracking wait. if my scale weight doesn’t move but my waist size is lower i know i’m on the right track.

I still say don’t waste your time and money on a scale. Have a good healthy diet plan set up for you and plan your meals. Garrenteed in a couple of months you will be spending your money on new cloths not fat measuring devices.

Hi Everyone and Joel. I am a bodybuilder and I have a Michealth bodyfat scale. I find it pretty accurate and I use it all the time. I also use this thing called a myotape measure and it is great too for fat loss. I also gauge progress by the mirror and if I look leaner I am happy. I am currently using Usp recreate and I find it is great for fat loss. I just joined a gym too because I didnt have a calf machine at home and it is great. My aim is to be 3 percent bodyfat and have strirated gluteals. also the most wicked set of abs possible. I am g iving myslef a about a year to do this. I am gonna have a cheat meal once a week and it will probably be burger king, or, here in australia we call it hungry jacks.

My scale flucuates on body fat…I am almost 50 now, weigh on average 112 -115, body fat % went from 28% down to 25% after 8 months of working out and eating well. HOwever, I neglected to change my age over the years…too lazy, but pushing 50 I decided to just do it. I got on the scale and I went from 24% body fat to 29%. I think that is rediculous. I am 5-5 & weigh 112-ish, run 10 miles a week and do core exercises 3 x a week….I know there is NO way my body fat it 29%. I changed my age down to 40 and it’s averageing 23-24% now. Is that more realistic regardless of my age?

Thanks for the advice.

You say that body water is most stable in the AM. I rise at 5:00 am and the first thing I do is visit the waste dept. Next is the scale and I can verify that hydration levels change from day to day. I also weigh every day but do not pay too much attention to body fat UNLESS the hydration level does not agree with fat measurement. IE hydration level up, body fat down,hydration level down body fat up. I only pay attention if at the same weight and hydration level and a different body fat.

TJ

I use the mirror, a scale to track weight (on an empty stomach in the morning after going to the bathroom) and also a tape measure around my belly button and around my pelvis bones.

Jo-Ann the assumption is that with age you will have more internal fat and lower bone density which is why it’s come out at a higher percentage. I personally don’t agree, it depends on the individual. Just go by what you see in the mirror.

As far as I’m concerned BIA is one of the worst methods available for accurately measuring body fat….hydrated or not it’s just off most of the time.

I recently had a DEXA scan and to be honest it’s the only method I actually trust for accurate results. Even with callipers I’ve seen people come out with all sorts of wierd numbers.

Hi Joel,
I know you’ve said that you recommend Tanita brand scales, and now I’m looking around to buy one, but they have a lot of different functions and the price range is enormous.. So I got my eye on a couple of different one’s that seem to do the job and are affordable, but do you recommend one in particular? The four models I’ve been looking at is:
Tanita BC543
Tanita UM075
Tanita UM072
Tanita UM051

The local slimming group I go to uses scales that measure body fat , H20 and BMI references as well as weight. I find these really useful. The BMI indicator is far better than actual weigh information. I have also noticed that when the water figure goes up, the fat figure goes down! Even if weekly weight fluctuates, keeping an eye in the BMI figure is reassuring – providing of course it is within the acceptable range for age and height!
Weihj-in at same time of day is always a good piece of advice, as well as wearing the same outfit!!!
Best wishes,
Linda

I use my bodyfat percentage scale first thing in the morning every week, (usually straight after the toilet) and they do seem pretty consistent and reliable. It would want to be for the amount it cost.

Kurt

My experience with these devices: last year I decided to replace my trusty old BIA scales as they were looking a little tired. At that time my old scales were showing 16% body fat, but the new ones I bought were showing something like 22% (I was so shocked I forget the exact figure!).

I went back to the store, and the very helpful manager and I spent a considerable amount of time unpacking and checking all the stock they had, which covered several different brands. The results: the range was 8% to 26%!!

So in my opinion, they might be ok for monitoring change, but are hopeless for any absolute measurements – better to stick with the mirrow and the tape measure…

i’ve been doing p90x, and right now i’m in my 3rd month. i have a bodyfat scale and the only way i weigh up is on saturday morning after i use the bathroom and i weigh myself totally naked. to me the best is to only weigh yourself once a week. once a month i take out the tape measure and see my progress. i also see how my clothes fit and use the mirror.
dennis

I have a Tanita Model 2000 Scale that I bought in Hong Kong back in 1999, and still works well. I had been weighing myself every morning, and got fairly consist results that showed 50% Body Fat back in September, to 38% now.

The Body Fat Measurement at the Gym (also Tanita but a ‘Professional’ model with printer) is consistently higher. No doubt due to be measured in the afternoon, after a workout, and different hydration levels from first thing in the morning, as you mentioned.

My advice is to buy a Body Fat Scale Model, that has a ‘Memory’.

I find it a little inconvenient having to go through a Setup routine of selecting Male or Female, Adult or Child, and entering my Height, each time before I can measure my Body Fat, along with the weight.

I’ve been using a body fat % scale for a year now.

I’m one of those weird people who measures everyday because I don’t have any problems at all with fluctuating numbers.

One thing I do besides measuring first thing in the morning is to quickly run a damp cloth across the soles of my feet to make sure there’s good contact between my feet and the metalplates on the scale.

Another surefire way to track progress is by how often you have to buy new jeans :-)

Oddly enough, I just explained this to someone this afternoon, how they work, why it’s important to take the measurements at the same time of day, and trying to keep a consistent level of hydration when using them, etc.. One of the things I said, and you can let me know your thoughts on this if you like, is that even though all methods of measuring body fat levels have limitations and their accuracy is limited and hampered to a certain degree, it doesn’t really matter as long as you’re able to make them consistent to themselves. As long as that’s the case, they could be off by 10%, but as long as they’re *consistently* off by that amount, you can still track your progress. Supplement them with a mirror and a measuring tape, or the fit of your clothes, and you’re all set to go.

I take the measurements every day and then simply take the median(!) – not the average – from the latest 7 measurements as the “true” fat value. This prevents extreme values to destroy my motivation. – And of course, as Joel correctly pointed out, always under the same conditions.

Body fat scales free you from looking at body weight!

Joel, and everybody else: Bodyfat Scales ARE useless. From a scientific point of view they are totally and utterly USELESS. I am actually quite surprised that you recommend them.
What you say about consistent levels of bodywater is totally correct. Only, when standing upright, where does the water go? Will it evenly spread throughout your body? It is clinically proven that this is not the case. So, in order to have a consistent spread you will have to lie down.
Secondly it is well known that electrical currents will find the shortest way from A to B. You can absolutely forget that the current that is supposed to travel from one foot to the other will actually make a detour through your abdomen and arms. It will not happen. Actually it is highly questionable if the current will even make it through the whole legs.
Thirdly, when standing upright. You will have muscle-tension. And muscle tension generates… ELECTRICAL CURRENTS!! Thus interferes with any other current that is artificially send through your musscle tissue!!!! Another reason that you will have to lie down, to minimise muscle tension.
If you want to have a valid assessment and you want to use a BIA (BEI) device, get one that performs tetrapolar measurements, from the (right) hand (two electrodes) to the (right) foot (two electrodes). That’s the only valid way to do it.
If you want to learn more about BIA, please have a look at the BIA Compendium (www.data-input.de/_site/_data/pdf_english/komp_e_all.pdf).
Don’t worry, I am not working for them and I am not selling them. It’s just a very readable piece on BIA (or BEI as you call it). If you want to buy a decent one I can recommend you Maltron or RLJ. You can get a Maltron for about 200 euro’s.
I’ve just upgraded from the BF-900 to the BF-916, so, if you like I can send you my “old” one for your convenience to try it for a while.
Btw you do need a scale, so please do not throw out the one you have….