Who's using body fat scales???

A

alipally

Serial Dieter!
I have a set of body fat scales, although I never check body composition on them.

However I was reading a thread about measuring body fat, so thought I'd have a look see.

Got the manual out, as I had no idea of how to get them to work... Apparently, you should only measure body fat when you are well hydrated.
So for us lot... NOT first thing in the morning... and not after doing a sweaty hour in the gym!!

You will weigh more but the body fat%age will be much more accurate... I did mine first in the morning the % body fat was frankly shocking, and I've just done it again and the difference was 10% less!
 
I have always been puzzled by these no idea how they work and always looks so improbable to me, although i am sure there is some scientific explanation.
 
By using electrical impedence... a small current is passed through your feet (hence metal prints) and the time it takes to pass through the body is measured. (It apparently moves faster through lean tissue than fat!) which is why you also have to plug in your height as distance is part of the calculations...
 
:rotflmao::rotflmao:

I know the feeling hun!
 
I got one of these scales last week - was pretty horrified at my body fat % but I have been doing it in the mornings - should maybe try it when i get home from work and see what the difference is! :)
 
lmao I once went on one and was unsure how i wasn't dead with the % it gave me.
 
The first time I used the one at the gym years ago it said "One at a time please. No coach parties." :D

Now it just tells me to put my gym bag down!

Steve
 
Just thinking about this. If the current passes through your lower body, and not upper, if you are pear shaped, wouldn't the fat % be higher and likewise, if you were like an apple or top heavy, it'd be lower? The water retention measure interests me too but can't imagine that's very reliable either.

I think the fat scales may help monitor how the fat % was decreasing even if the measurement itself isn't completely accurate.
 
They are just like most of these things ... a guide only. As long as the figures are gowing down (weight, body fat etc etc) then things are okay.

Steve
 
Had a set of these for years but never normally use them, stick to my regular digital ones. But i did do my Body Fat at the beginning of the diet and it was 40something%, can't remember exactly. After reading a post on here yesterday i did it today and was down to 35%, have no idea what i should aim for but still chuffed its moving in the right direction!
 
Laura Croft said:
Just thinking about this. If the current passes through your lower body, and not upper, if you are pear shaped, wouldn't the fat % be higher and likewise, if you were like an apple or top heavy, it'd be lower? The water retention measure interests me too but can't imagine that's very reliable either.

I think the fat scales may help monitor how the fat % was decreasing even if the measurement itself isn't completely accurate.
Click to expand...

Current doesn't stop at your hips... else mine would be really quite low!! (boobs and belly!) it goes through the whole of your body!!!
When the gym did mine, they did it with calipers as well as they were trialling the scales they'd got... the results were the same. So they're pretty accurate (The Tanita ones anyway!)

As for body fat % to aim for they say men should be around 18-25% is acceptable but can be as low as 6% for athletes :eek:

For women 25-31% is acceptable but for athletes it could be as low as 14%

It's important to say that body fat % and BMI sometimes are at odds with one another, which is why it's a more accurate way to decide if you are at a healthy point! my hubby is apparently overweight, verging on obese, although his body fat is 23%!

Women need more fat on their bodies in order to secrete normal female hormones, which is why anorexics stop having periods!

For me personally, I'll be happy with around 28% body fat...
 
alipally said:
Current doesn't stop at your hips... else mine would be really quite low!! (boobs and belly!) it goes through the whole of your body!!!
When the gym did mine, they did it with calipers as well as they were trialling the scales they'd got... the results were the same. So they're pretty accurate (The Tanita ones anyway!)

As for body fat % to aim for they say men should be around 18-25% is acceptable but can be as low as 6% for athletes :eek:

For women 25-31% is acceptable but for athletes it could be as low as 14%

It's important to say that body fat % and BMI sometimes are at odds with one another, which is why it's a more accurate way to decide if you are at a healthy point! my hubby is apparently overweight, verging on obese, although his body fat is 23%!

Women need more fat on their bodies in order to secrete normal female hormones, which is why anorexics stop having periods!

For me personally, I'll be happy with around 28% body fat...
Click to expand...

I'd read the current only went through lower body so thanks for correcting me on that. I agree it's good to measure body fat % in conjunction with BMI.
 
i considered getting some of these....but then my reasoning against it was that i didnt want another number to get hung up on....
its bad enough trying to get my weight to a healthy bmi without adding fat % to it too! lol xxx
 
It's actually widely accepted in the scientific community that body fat measurement is a more accurate way of determining a 'healthy weight' because you can appear to be slim but have unacceptable levels of body fat that actually make you unhealthy.

You can measure this using this formula, it doesn't require special equipment just a tape measure!

Here's the link:
Body Fat Calculator
 
oh thats fab hun! I'll be having a play with that later!
Just find it frustrating that there are so many different tools telling you whether your over weight or not....the joys of the human body i guess!
:D
xx
 
ooh ali, thats not bad it makes mine 31.6, xxx
 
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