Smart scales, are they any good?
- Thread starter dusty_nz
- Start date
Mywifesirrational
I however am very normal. Trust me.
We've got a few in the labs, along with CT's, Dexa and sonography, so they have been compared closely for determining reliability for research purposes. Overall they are pretty good, but not amazingly accurate with at a minimum and error of >5%. So for research no good, but for home/personal use pretty good - as long as it's not the cheapest one available.
If your are serious about bone density, lean muscle mass and adipose can't go past a dexa scan, the benefit being it's the gold standard and can be a very valuable tool for measuring changes over longer periods of time >6mths... to many years.
JTmofo
XC Enthusiast
What he said ^^^^^
Put your money into a Dexa scan or 2 every year, far more accurate...........
JTmofo
XC Enthusiast
$80 gets me a scan in Sydney..... $130 if you want a consultation with someone explaining what the results mean!
Dont bother with the consultation, the interweb can tell you what all the info relates to!
http://www.dexascansydney.com.au/
or
http://www.measureup.com.au/
Rhys_
Likes Bikes and Dirt
They had a 'smart' scale at a gym I used to visit, and I can tell you the body fat measurement certainly didn't work. I followed all the instructions, and it came back with a reading of 17% when I was clearly closer to 10%. Just my experience, can't comment on the other measurements or reliability of other models/brands.
pylet_tibs
Likes Bikes
I work as a bone density tech at St Vincents, done densitometry clinic. Without medicare rebate, your looking at $150. $87 off with a rebate. I am on clinical placement in Canberra Hospital for the next few months but if you bring me a doctors referral ill organise a time to scan you in my break free of charge. We have just purchased a new lunar prodigy DEXA, with even better dose comparison. Great piece of machinery with a very reduced dose of absorbed radiation.
badtreefrog
Likes Bikes
I am a PT and while I like the idea of a scale that tells you body fat percentage and bone density there are just too many variables in play to make them accurate; and weight alone is an inferior measurement when it comes to body composition. As mentioned above, if you are really serious about what your body fat figure is then get a dexa scan. Next step down are skinfolds, but these are technical to do properly and only really accurate for people with a low body fat percentage anyway.
The best solution for tracking progress in most people my opinion is to get a measuring tape, measure your chest (nipples), waist (at BB), hips (widest point of your arse) and thigh (where the tip of your thumb hits it when you are standing up straight. As long as things are heading in the direction you want them to then you are doing great!
The best solution for tracking progress in most people my opinion is to get a measuring tape, measure your chest (nipples), waist (at BB), hips (widest point of your arse) and thigh (where the tip of your thumb hits it when you are standing up straight. As long as things are heading in the direction you want them to then you are doing great!
Agree. Level of accuracy goes Smart Scale - Skinfold - Dexa. As mentioned above, there are a lot of variables and variation still with the scale and skinfold. Different brands of scale and calipers as well as how well trained the person is in performing the tests can produce a lot of variation.
I personally have tanita body composition scales at home (Approx $150-$200) and have been skinfold tested multiple times by the same person with Harpenden calipers (Approx $325) and find the calipers come back 3-4% higher than the scales. I'm booked in for a dexa scan next though so it will be interesting to see how they all compare. Here in Brisbane you can get a dexa (including consultation) for $88 first visit and then a follow up scan for about $60.
I'm going into the personal training industry firstly as a PT but with plans to run my own business (I know MWI, another bloody PT to hate on, but we aren't all useless!
) and I will be doing everything I can to negotiate cheap deals on DEXA's and encourage clients to use the most accurate body composition assessment available. Setting fitness goals more often than not centres around 'toning up', getting down to 'x' amount of body fat or a certain weight and fluctuations or inaccurate testing results from cheap scales or tools that may not accurately track progress can be a massive demotivator for people. Badtreefrog, I think girth measurements may be good for people with lots to lose but are too simplistic when using them for people that are relatively healthy already where changes in composition may not actually reflect changes on scales/tapes (someone may weigh and measure up the same or close on a tape/scale but could have totally changed their lean muscle v body fat composition).
While totally out of our control from a fat point of view, the Dexa will show where the person is holding or losing fat while also showing changes in muscle mass broken down into individual limbs, torso and head.
I personally have tanita body composition scales at home (Approx $150-$200) and have been skinfold tested multiple times by the same person with Harpenden calipers (Approx $325) and find the calipers come back 3-4% higher than the scales. I'm booked in for a dexa scan next though so it will be interesting to see how they all compare. Here in Brisbane you can get a dexa (including consultation) for $88 first visit and then a follow up scan for about $60.
I'm going into the personal training industry firstly as a PT but with plans to run my own business (I know MWI, another bloody PT to hate on, but we aren't all useless!
) and I will be doing everything I can to negotiate cheap deals on DEXA's and encourage clients to use the most accurate body composition assessment available. Setting fitness goals more often than not centres around 'toning up', getting down to 'x' amount of body fat or a certain weight and fluctuations or inaccurate testing results from cheap scales or tools that may not accurately track progress can be a massive demotivator for people. Badtreefrog, I think girth measurements may be good for people with lots to lose but are too simplistic when using them for people that are relatively healthy already where changes in composition may not actually reflect changes on scales/tapes (someone may weigh and measure up the same or close on a tape/scale but could have totally changed their lean muscle v body fat composition).While totally out of our control from a fat point of view, the Dexa will show where the person is holding or losing fat while also showing changes in muscle mass broken down into individual limbs, torso and head.
I might just take you up on that when you get back. Will also give me a little time to get rid of the flubber I put on from eating everything in sight while on holiday! :lol:
Mywifesirrational
I however am very normal. Trust me.
I know MWI, another bloody PT to hate on, but we aren't all useless!
haha, they're not all bad, just most of them. Don't read mens health like magazines, don't believe anything your told with out appropriate references, you'll be right. Select a provider that's attached to a university if possible, the quality will be better and if your inclined it'll open the door directly into a sports science degree, which then lead to an allied health degree, then onto a PhD in rehab, strength training, sports specific, disease.. your mum would be very proud. All why paying for it with your PT'ing.
I had a coffee a few weeks ago with another rotorburner who is a PT - I would wager money he is a very good PT. I think being a bit older helps a lot and not blindly following fitness trends.
I'm actually surprised more fitness centres aren't making deals with DEXA providers, they'd make a killing money wise especially in the pre summer rush. Anyone know of any laws against this? the machines are as cheap as low 20k area, no more expensive than a couple of treadmills.