Body Composition Q?- Scale or no scale?

[Heatrae]

Hi there,

is it acceptable to use one of those in-home scales that tells you your weight and BF%? Do they work well enough or would it be a waste of my money?

I don't have a trainer and no other way to determine my BF%.

Thanks

[Cynic]

They really aren't worth anything. I have a hand-held Omron and got disappointed with it rather early.

I'd say use calipers, tape measurement, the mirror or any combination.

[papperclippy]

I bought a middle of the road Tanita one. I heard the BF% were questionable on these scales, but I wanted one that was very reliable when it came to weight. I can tell you that your weight and your BF% numbers will change throughout the day. I measured myself three times daily for a few weeks to see which time was the best. I found that first thing in the morning, the bf% was high. During the afternoon, it was a little lower. Then at night it was a lot lower. If you average them together I think you will get a pretty good idea of what it is.

Obviously these aren't going to be precise numbers, but if you measure your BF% at the same time each time, you could see if your bf% was decreasing or increasing.

[Moveon]

I'm w/paperclippy. Choose a measure and time of day that produces a consistant result. The absolute number isn't that important to me. I just want a good measure that will tell me which direction I'm moving in and how fast/slow I'm moving. All BF measures are relative (meaning you aren't REALLY measureing BF. You are measuring something that is known to correlate with BF). All relative measures will have some error in them. As long as the error is consistant, the measure tells me what I want to know. They mirror tells me when I've arrived.

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[Bytsi]

The biggest problem with the scales (or any bioelectric impedence measure, incuding the Omron) is that your hydration status can really change the readings. It's based on the speed in which a small electric current travels through your body - and water conducts at a different speed than fat. So, if you always measure first thing in the morning without having a drink first, you'll probably get consistent RELATIVE values. But I wouldn't hold that number up as an absolute body fat %.

For fun one day, try using the body fat scale when you're really dehydrated, then drink a bunch of water and get back on - you can change your BF% in less than an hour!