Can somone recommend me an accurate smart scale. I have searched many of them, but when I am about to buy one I read a negative review. I want it to measure the following settings:
Body fat percentage Muscle mass Bone mass Water percentage
Of course I know that the measurements can’t be 100% accurate but I need smth to base on. Thanks
One of the problems with these types of scales in general is that your hydration level wildly affects the results, so if you dehydrated you will be a higher percentage body fat. I think If you get one for your own knowledge, rather than trying to just look at the number itself, just keep track of the trend. Are you moving in the right direction? Have you stalled out? If you have a menstrual cycle, does it change throughout the month? And use it as a tool for getting to know your body and where you are at, rather than a set number as a goal to measure yourself against.
I’m using the Whitings body+ scale. It’s accurate on average but fussy with weighting moments. After a shower or a workout or slightly sweaty feet wil give wild results with fat percentages. I weight myself first thing in the morning after a visit to the toilet. This seems to work well for a long term overview. Their app is also quite good and works well with Apple health and other apps like my fitness pal.
I can’t speak for how accurate, but I just got a Garmin Index S2, and it’s by far the most realistic results I’ve gotten out of a BI scale. Even compared to the higher-end ones with handles.
As it happens I’m having a DXA scan done on Tuesday. I’ll update this comment with a comparison.
EDIT: Results. It’s hard to compare directly, other than the body fat %, because the figures don’t represent quite the same thing. Garming separates water weight. It also shows muscle and bone separately, while the DXA shows lean tissue, which includes organs.
Me: 42M/1.83m/139.1kg/fasted
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Garmin Index S2 (parts in parenthesis is me working out the corresponding figure):
Body Fat: 35.9 % (49.9 kg)
Skeletal Muscle Mass: 47.1 kg (33.8 %)
Bone Mass: 7.7 kg
Body Water: 46.8% (65.1 kg)
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DXA:
Body Fat: 39.8 %
Fat Mass: 54.3 kg
Lean Mass: 79.6 kg
Bone Mineral Content: 2.6kg
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Make of that what you will. For what it’s worth, every BI scale I’ve tried before put me around 8-10% lower body fat than DXA, even when I was quite a bit lighter.
No body fat measuring method will ever be accurate. This includes methods such as DEXA, bodpod, calipers, etc. Each one can easily be manipulated by water intake, exercise, time of day, or even how much salt you had that day. DEXA is arguably the most accurate, and even that can vary at an average of 3-6%.
I wouldn’t recommend burning money on a smart scale, as the numbers will never be reliable. The best method, while not backed by numbers, will be looking into the mirror and gauging your body. Watch your progress, see visible changes over time. Another helpful metric to keep tabs on body composition changes is body measurements - not percentages, but just things like waist, chest, leg thickness changes.
I use the Renpho ES-CS20M. Connected via Bluetooth to my smart phone. 23 Euro in Germany.
Accurate in weight. Consistent in all other measures. As other users already said, watch for the trend and not the absolut values.
That said we compared our results to the results of our gym analysis and some were off maybe 3-4% but aver all expressed the same message.
I’m happy with Omron body monitor. Generally, scales that simultaneously measure impedance in arms and legs are more accurate. Use it always at the same time of the day in similar conditions. Ideally, in the morning, before the shower or breakfast.
No body scale will be able to even estimate bf%. There are good smart scales to track your weight with an app, but all the other measurements (muscle mass, body water, bf%, etc.) aren’t even close estimates. For example, mine says I’m 10% BF, even though im closer to 20%.
If you want a ballpark for bf% that you can do at home try a skinfold caliper, otherwise get a dexascan or Hydrostatic Weighing. Though still not 100% accurate.