Has anyone bought a body scan scale. If so which one do you recommend. I just want to make sure I invest in a good one.

RENPHO blue tooth scale and body analyzer, $22.99 on Amazon now.

I have seen a few people on here that have had the scans done. I don't really remember who though, you may be able to search it?

I have the arboleaf scale and I like it

I'm a fan of the ones that have both footpads and handles that you hold. I don't have any data to suggest that they are any better, but it just seems like having more sensors in more places would be a good thing. The one I have now in an Omron, but I recently saw on Amazon that InBody also makes one for the home market. InBody is the brand my Bariatric Center uses, so I'm tempted to get one of those as well.

One thing to keep in mind: none of these home BIA scales are all that accurate. In reality, that's not super important to me. What's more important is that they are consistent; meaning I can actually track from one week to the next if my percentage of body fat is trending in the right direction. When I want a more accurate number, I'll go get a bod pod scan.

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I have a FitTrack Dara scale. I have no idea how accurate the body metrics are, and the app is pretty clunky, but the scale works fine and I like having the historic data to look at.

The first one I had was a Tanita, which are very good, they make a lot of the professional models that the doctors use, It was very stable and reliable for about twelve years when it finally burned out. They're pricier than the cheapos- $60/70 up to around 150 depending upon the bells and whistles included, so I wouldn't hesitate about getting another. I did replace it with one of the Omrons that has both hand and foot pads and that seems to work well.

One of the errors in the technology comes from where the measurement is taken - across the feet or the hands; some RDs or personal trainers may use a hand held grip that does the same thing as the foot pads. The problem is that its accuracy depends in part on what shape your body is - it you are an "apple" shape, keeping most of your fat around your abdomen, then the foot pads will tend to understate your BF number, and the had grips will overstate it some. Conversely, if you are "pear" shaped, holding most of your fat in your hips and butt, then the foot pads will overstate your BF while the hand grips will understate it. A scale that has both will average the two to get a closer reading.

Another error inherent in the technology is that it is hydration sensitive. As it is measuring your body's impedance (electrical resistance), that will vary depending upon how much water is present (just like standing in a puddle of water while changing a light bulb isn't a great idea....) Your hydration will vary during the day, and some from day to day, so you should weigh yourself at the same time each day, preferably in the late afternoon or before dinner, when you are fully hydrated and likely most stable in that regard; first thing in the morning tends to be more stable on weight, but you are more dehydrated then. One might see 4-5 points difference in BF from early morning to late afternoon, so consistency is key. One will probably also see some day to day variation, so don't take them as too significant - trends are more important than individual snapshots.

I typically weighed myself daily before dinner and kept a mental track of the BF number, It would typically vary, say, between 32.0-33.9, so any differences in there were not treated as significant; however, as time progressed, I would start seeing readings in the 31's, and stop seeing 33's. so that I took as notable progress. Call it an informal moving average. If one is so inclined, then record them daily and do a real moving average of maybe ten days. That should smooth out the day to day noise.

On 8/12/2022 at 8:45 AM, SpartanMaker said:

I'm a fan of the ones that have both footpads and handles that you hold. I don't have any data to suggest that they are any better, but it just seems like having more sensors in more places would be a good thing. The one I have now in an Omron, but I recently saw on Amazon that InBody also makes one for the home market. InBody is the brand my Bariatric Center uses, so I'm tempted to get one of those as well.

One thing to keep in mind: none of these home BIA scales are all that accurate. In reality, that's not super important to me. What's more important is that they are consistent; meaning I can actually track from one week to the next if my percentage of body fat is trending in the right direction. When I want a more accurate number, I'll go get a bod pod scan.

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I want something consistent too. Thanks

On 8/12/2022 at 12:06 PM, RickM said:

The first one I had was a Tanita, which are very good, they make a lot of the professional models that the doctors use, It was very stable and reliable for about twelve years when it finally burned out. They're pricier than the cheapos- $60/70 up to around 150 depending upon the bells and whistles included, so I wouldn't hesitate about getting another. I did replace it with one of the Omrons that has both hand and foot pads and that seems to work well.

One of the errors in the technology comes from where the measurement is taken - across the feet or the hands; some RDs or personal trainers may use a hand held grip that does the same thing as the foot pads. The problem is that its accuracy depends in part on what shape your body is - it you are an "apple" shape, keeping most of your fat around your abdomen, then the foot pads will tend to understate your BF number, and the had grips will overstate it some. Conversely, if you are "pear" shaped, holding most of your fat in your hips and butt, then the foot pads will overstate your BF while the hand grips will understate it. A scale that has both will average the two to get a closer reading.

Another error inherent in the technology is that it is hydration sensitive. As it is measuring your body's impedance (electrical resistance), that will vary depending upon how much Water is present (just like standing in a puddle of water while changing a light bulb isn't a great idea....) Your hydration will vary during the day, and some from day to day, so you should weigh yourself at the same time each day, preferably in the late afternoon or before dinner, when you are fully hydrated and likely most stable in that regard; first thing in the morning tends to be more stable on weight, but you are more dehydrated then. One might see 4-5 points difference in BF from early morning to late afternoon, so consistency is key. One will probably also see some day to day variation, so don't take them as too significant - trends are more important than individual snapshots.

I typically weighed myself daily before dinner and kept a mental track of the BF number, It would typically vary, say, between 32.0-33.9, so any differences in there were not treated as significant; however, as time progressed, I would start seeing readings in the 31's, and stop seeing 33's. so that I took as notable progress. Call it an informal moving average. If one is so inclined, then record them daily and do a real moving average of maybe ten days. That should smooth out the day to day noise.

I typically weigh in the morning because that's when I weigh less lol. Sometimes I weigh before bed. But mainly in the mornings

4 hours ago, Happy Stylist said:

I typically weigh in the morning because that's when I weigh less lol. Sometimes I weigh before bed. But mainly in the mornings

I usually wound up doing both - in the morning for weight (that's when it is most stable and less influenced by other day to day variations - and then before dinner to get the BF at its best time. So much for those who say we shouldn't weigh more than once a week! The key there is not to agonize over day to day variations and recognize that they are going to happen and are normal.