OK- which scales are better ? Digital or the old fashioned kind ?

I have a digital one that is old and I suspect may be unreliable now.

Hi
I prefer using the scale at the Dr. office. I can't fudge with the numbers............. he he
Oregongirl

I have a Tanika Digital scale which has the wonderful extra feature of a body fat calculator . It does this by sending a small current from one heel to the other, since fat has a different resistance than lean body mass it can estimate body fat%. I have found it quite accurate if averaged over a few days. Just like weight it can give you some oddball readings now and then. Hydration level etc causes significant swings in %. I track readings daily calcualting lean body mass. It is odd watching the correlation between weight and fat %. Overall it is a useful tool as long as you realize it has its variances.

I recently bought a new scale when I realized the one I had was not accurate. I would step on it five times and get a different reading each time

Before I bought a new one, I did some research on the Internet. According to what I read, TANITA scales got the highest ratings. I found mine for $49.99 at SportMart. It's a digital that weighs to the .5 pound and also measures body fat. I have found it to be extremely accurate. I can step on it ten times in a row and get the exact same reading for weight. I have not yet used the body fat feature yet though.

The only thing I didn't like was that it weighed 2 pounds more than my old scale

If you go to Tanita's website, you can find out which stores carry it in your area.

I had an old fashioned (but expensive) scale that you could dial in to adjust to the doctors scale, but when I would adjust it to my weight, then 270 (not anymore!), my wife's weight would be about 10 lbs. above her actual.

So for christmas I bought myself a TANITA digital scale with the body fat calculator at Linens and Things on sale for $39.99. From what I understand there are models for the ordinary Joe, like me, and there are scales for athletic builts (it has something to do with the way it calculates body fat). I have found the scale to be very consistent and reliable and the BF calculation to be a good way to track my fat loss. However, I depending on when you take your BF it will vary. So I would suggest always checking at the same time of day, preferably when you wake up, to get the most accurate BF%.

Yikes! I just went onto Tanita's website and there are tons are different scales to choose from. The Body Fat Monitor/Scales line seem to be the most accurate (increments of .1% for BF and .2 lbs for weight) in comparison to the UltimateScales line (increments of 1% BF, .5 lbs).

Here's their Comparison Chart .

I'm looking at the difference between getting a Personal Scale or Dual Scale. How difficult would it be to have 2 people use a Personal scale instead of having 2 person memory?

Has anyone from Canada got one of these? The company only gives Canadian Tire as a retailer and they only carry the UltimateScales line.

TIA,
Wanda

You would just have to set your sex and height between the two people using the scale. It does not afftect your weight, only your %. My wife likes to leave my height in there 5' 11" rather than her 5' because it makes her like 3% fat

Hi gtarent:

So it really is only meant for 1 person (ie. you can't manually set it for a different person if they want their accurate body fat). Is that right? Thanks for the important info. I wouldn't have guessed that.

Wanda

I can't seem to find one of these scales, I have looked in Rite Aid and Wal Mart.
Any ideas ?

Quietstorm:

Their website will tell you where in the U.S. to find the scales as well as where you can find a certain model.

www.tanita.com

drugstore.com has the basic model for $39.99

It could easily be used by two people. It calculates its fat % by using an algorithm vs the resistance it encounters. You input your sex and your height, it does all the math. If two people wanted to use it you would just have to make sure it still had the correct info for you. It only takes 1/2 minute to change so its not a huge ordeal. If you do use the scale, just remember as many variables affect the % as weight. I have had body fat % change by 4% in one day. I take 2 readings a day and track in a spread sheet. I calculate lean body mass vs lbs of fat (yuck!) and chart the progress of both. When looked at over a large sample size the trend is very clear which is nice to see.

Hi gtarent:

That's what I wondered - each person's information isn't stored in memory for you if you only use the personal model. All you have to do is manually enter your data, as you say in half a minute, right? So the "guest mode" really isn't a necessary feature if you don't mind reprogramming your information, right? If so, that's good to know. You just saved me a bit of money.

What kind of scale do you have. The .1% increments (Body Fat Scale) or 1% increments (UltimateScales)? Four % difference on a .1% increment scale seems like a lot of variance. How accurate are they compared to measuring body fat the old fashioned way?

TIA,
Wanda

I bought mine about five years ago, I think. It has settings for four different people (well, there's four buttons on it, I think that's what they're for??), you set them up and just touch a button on the front with your big toe to tell the thing who's up next. If I were living with someone, I'd much rather pay a few extra bucks than have to reset the thing every time I stood on it.

You might want to check out this thread in the Best Of forum.

Body Fat Scales--Are they worth it?


HTH

Beth