Body Composition Scale Suggestions


#1

I need a new scale anyway. I would like one that measures body composition and visceral fat since that is probably my biggest problem.

I realize they are not accurate but can show a general trend. Yes I know the point is to lose fat and not weight and how I look in my clothes. Having gained and lost and gained on Keto and Fasting, I can tell you that when the scale goes up my clothes get tight and my visceral fat areas get bigger so the scale has been a pretty good indicator. As for accuracy, I am not looking to spend $2000, it seems recently in the normal price range $20 - $150 you can get a body fat scale for not much more than a normal scale


(Gregory - You can teach an old dog new tricks.) #2

OOops… never mind


(Kenny Croxdale) #3

The Accuracy

As you already know, the accuracy is Iffy at best.

Also, as you probably know, one of keys is to take your reading at the same time of the day.

The Protocol

The direction should tell you that to obtain you most accurate reading you should have not…

  1. Exercised about three hour before taking the reading.

  2. Have not eaten about three hours before taking the reading.

  3. You are well hydrated. Thus, a better reading occurs later in the day when you are well hydrated rather in the morning when you are hydrated that well.

Site Sensitive

Another interesting bit of information is the BIA devises tend to be Site Sensitive.

Scales: The BIA Scales are more sensitive to lower body fat.

If you store more body fat in your lower body, you reading will be higher.

If you store less body fat in your lower body, your reading will be low.

Hand Held Devices: They are more upper body sensitive.

If you store more body fat in your upper body, you reading will be higher.

If you store less body fat in your lupper body, your reading will be low.

Kenny Croxdale


#4

No BIA scale can tell you where the fat is nor distinguish visceral from other. But there ARE pretty respectable BIA scales out there. They take a lot of crap but they’re not all bad. Biggest key is always use them for trends and always use them while pretty much dehydrated ideally first thing in the AM and moisturize your hands and feet good the night before. You’ll read many things that say the opposite but it’s your skin you want hydrated (for the pulse) not you. A couple glasses of water and you weight a couple extra lbs. You want a scale that’s measuring both hands and feet, feet only is a waste. These are two descent ones.

This one is pricey buy inBody stuff is really good

I have the Omron, and it’s pretty good. Most of the time it’s close enough to my real measurements that I trust it. Every once in a while it just comes out with something stupid but as a whole I’m happy with it. Typically I use the inBody scale at the gym which pretty much always agrees with my BodPod readings, I’ve only done DEXA once, but it was within .3 of what the BodPod came up with so I feel DEXA isn’t worth the extra money.


(Kenny Croxdale) #5

Be Hydrated

To obtain the optimal reading, the reading needs to be taken later in the day, when you are completely hydrated. That is the prescribed method on the direction, it there for a reason.

Muscle Mass
https://www.usgs.gov/special-topic/water-science-school/science/water-you-water-and-human-body?qt-science_center_objects=0#qt-science_center_objects

Approximately 79% of muscle is composed of water.

In a dehydrated state, BIA as well as other methods, will show that you have less muscle mass than you really have.

When fully hydrated, your Lean Body Mass reading will be higher; showing what your real muscle mass is.

One research article that demonstrated the different between dehydrated vs hydrated measurements is…

The Effects of Ketogenic Dieting on Body Composition, Strength, Power, and Hormonal Profiles in Resistance Training Males

This Ketogenic Diet research measured and compared Lean Muscle Mass on the Ketogenic Diet and after essentially Carbohydrate Loading for one week.

“KD group was prescribed a new diet ], consisting of 1g/kg carbohydrate for 2 days, then 2g/kg carbohydrate for the next 2 days, and finally 3g/kg carbohydrate for the last 2 days with an isocaloric decrease in dietary fat before final testing.”

*…the KD condition gained 5 kg of mass from weeks 10-11. Of these, 3 kg were driven by changes in lean mass."

Gaining 3 kg/6.6 lbs of Lean Muscle Mass In A Week!

No one gains over 6 lbs in a week.

What it illustrates is that hydration is necessary for determining the true amount of Lead Muscle Mass that an individual has.

Training Dehydrated

Research shows that being 2% or more dehydration decrease performance.

Training Hydrated

Training in a well hydrated state ensures better performance.

Superhydration

Training in a Superhydrated state increases strength performance.

This occurs due to…

Cell Voluminizing

Creatine: One of the reasons that most individual increase strength when taking creatine is to due the Superhydration of the muscle cells; Cell Voluminizing.

Kenny Croxdale


(Ethan) #6

This matches my observations over 2 years. If I weighed myself in the morning, I got the lowest total body weight, but highest fat percentage. If I weighed myself in the evening, I got the highest body weight, but lowest fat percentage. It was always a disappointment either way. I suggest going with the evening weight because that is the way calibrated by the manufacturers


#7

Do you own one? Have you ever compared it to BodPod and DEXA scans for accuracy? I have many times. enough moisture in the skin to conduct good with nothing in you yet provided the most accuracy. If you want to weigh your food and consumed water, that’s up to you. I prefer more consistent results more inline with what the better method would provide.

By the time I wake up in the morning drink 2 coffee’s a pre workout and whatever I consume during I’m already up 4lbs. No thanks. Not adding in more liquid and food on top of that.


(Todd Allen) #8

I bought a feet only smart scale from Amazon with good reviews. I’m pleased with the weight accuracy but the body composition results are utter crap. Not even close to what I get with a DEXA scan and twice as far off as I get with a tape measure and body fat calipers.

A simple test shows how bad it is. Use it before and after a sauna. The change in weight is water which is lean mass. Losing water means lean mass has dropped and body fat % has increased but my scale (and I expect most others too) reports a drop in body fat %. If I drink a lot of water it reports a gain in fat %.

I believe this is due to the scale requiring one to enter data like height, sex and age which it probably uses in algorithm to generate a result based on typical people. It may tweak that result with the measured impedance value but not enough and when the change in weight is pure lean or pure fat it is very inaccurate.

It might be that it is only measuring the impedance in my legs and perhaps more of the water loss was from my torso than my legs in which case a scale with hand grips to measure from hands to feet might do somewhat better. But my scale isn’t just under reporting my increase in body fat % with the water loss but is reporting it as a loss of body fat % so merely doing somewhat better could still be very wrong.


#9

Agreed, every feet only one I’ve had has come up with terrible results. Holding water screws with them BAD! One of the reasons I went with the Omron, figured since they make real medical equipment hopefully they knew what they were doing. Supposedly the inBody ones have a very proprietary way to do it where they send multiple pulses at different (voltages I assume?) and since they’ll travel through LBM, Fat, Bone differently it makes it more accurate than the normal way. Just what I was told, but I know the ones all the gyms have cost like $5k so they better be doing something special!


(Kenny Croxdale) #10

No

I don’t own one. However, I work in Commercial Fitness Equipment Sales.

Occasionally, someone will purchase one from me.

In the past,I did some Peronal Training and had access to the BIA Scales and Hand
Devices.

There was/is a dramatic fluctuation in day to day readings, even when take at the same time of day. A large part of that was due to individuals not following the recommended protocol.

There was/is an even greater different in the reading when it is taken in the morning or afternoon.

Exercise Physiology

One of my college degrees is in Exercise Physiology.

I keep up with the research and have practical experience in this area.

Hydrated

In other word, you are hydrated prior to using the BIA.

Superhydration

It appears you may have misunderstood the information that I presented on this.

I didn’t now advocate Superhydration prior to the BIA reading.

The information that I posted on Superhydration was in regard to its effect on Strength.

As I noted, that is one of the reason that Creatine works.

Superhydration of the muscle cell is also one of the underlying mechanisms for dramatic increased with certain PED, anabolics.

Kenny Croxdale


#11

If you read everything I said, I DON’T weight after all that, for that exact reason! DE-Hydrated means nothing from later the night prior, not shriveled up like a prune.

Which is exactly why I do it the way I do it. Consistency. Same reason when you go in for DEXA and BodPod they don’t want anything in you other than some sips of water. Being a personal trainer to me says the people you worked with as you said aren’t compliant most of the time, don’t have dailed in diets and probably cheat more than they follow good advise. The handheld units are even worse than the feet only scales.

BIA scale accuracy was part of that curriculum?

Than you should be agreeing with me. Feel free to buy a BIA scale with both hand and feet or go to an inBody at your gym and measure both ways assuming you have an accurate BF% on yourself now… and see for yourself. Don’t take my word for it.


(Central Florida Bob ) #12

I bought a Renpho CS20M a year and half ago.

On the positive side, it agreed pretty well with my older Tanita scale it replaced in terms of weight and %BF so that’s sort of a sign neither one is way off from a conventional way of doing a BIA.

On the negative side, the algorithms generate some odd results!

For example, I’ve been in Maintenance for about a year. I gained 9.6 pounds. The scale tells me I gained 6.8 pounds of fat, of which 2.5 was subcutaneous and 1.4 lbs was visceral. Wait - that adds to 3.9, not 6.8? Where’s the rest? If I add what it shows for lean body mass and body fat gain, those add to the same number as my weight gain. It’s a little inconvenient that it give lean body mass in pounds and body fat in percentage, but that’s why we have spreadsheets.

Sort of similarly, I’ve been trying like crazy to gain some upper body strength, lifting around once a week in a Body By Science type workout (as best I can). It tells me my lean body mass has gone up 2.8 pounds while my skeletal muscle has gone down by 0.8 pound. So my weight lifting has made the target muscles smaller and my intestines more muscular? Not quite what I intended! (I said intestines because I couldn’t think of another obvious non-skeletal muscle - it didn’t tell me that. I sure didn’t gain 2.8 pounds in my eyelid muscle.).

It’s sort of in an “uncomfortable valley” where it’s not totally useless but it’s not really able to do all they sell it by.


(Kenny Croxdale) #13

[quote=“lfod14, post:11, topic:104928”]BIA scale accuracy was part of that curriculum?
[/quote]

Sure let go with that. I have a PhD in Bioelectral Impedance Analysis-olygy. :slight_smile:

Part of what was in the curriculum was on body composition testing method.

And you received your degree in this area from…?

I am sure you know more that those in the field and will be able to show these misguide souls the errors of their method.

We have exhausted this top. Time to move on.

Kenny Croxdale


#14

You’re talking my brand of talk! In that case you’re clearly qualified!


#15

In my gym there’s a Tanita you step on, then it beeps and you hold two metal handles beside your hips.

I’m suspicious of them, so I’ve tried several times and, to my surprise, it was very consistent.

Could you comment on those models? Thank you.!

Edit: tried to add picture, but it didn’t work. The model is
TANITA MC-980MA PLUS


#16

Thank you for the comments. Especially if your scale does not work well for body fat please let me know.

@Corals I looked at a Tanita online but it did not synch with my phone not sure it was that model, only stores the information on the scale. I do not want a scale that does that as H and I long ago decided we did not want to know what the other weighed! Even during childbirth I sent him out of the room when they asked me what I weighed! If that is not issue I might have considered it.

Thank you. The Omron is so much less than the InBody. Does the InBody do feet only? I would prefer that although it does not sound like it is as accurate. Also most of my fat is mid body not lower body

@KennyCrox Thank you for the explanation, very interesting


#17

No, it does both, if you look closely you can see the hand grip at the top of the scale, it just sits nicer than the Omron one does. InBody’s are probably the most accurate when it comes to BIA, but again, not cheap. Makes no difference where the fat is that’s why it’s sending the pulse through both your feet and hands and seeing what comes back on the other end. The resistance from one end to the other is how it’s measuring along with the info you give it.

I’m happy with my Omron, but would definitely buy the InBody if I had the extra $$ laying around.


(Scott) #18

Get one that logs readings via wifi. I have the Aria scale and don’t care if the % is accurate but it does trend well to go up when I am putting on fat and down when I lose fat. The on/off can get wonky but that is probably more to do with my tile floor than the scale.


(Allie) #19

Renpho for me, cheap and prefer it to the Tanita I used to use.
Links to my phone on bluetooth.


#20

The one at my gym sends me an email with the results, but it must be ridiculously expensive.

It’d be so nice to have something home, cheaper, to measure muscle growth/mass!

Nice thread!