Learn About the Best Body Fat Monitor and Scale

Interested in learning about the best body fat monitor and scale? Want to buy one but do not know where to start? No problem, let our scale guide show you the way.

No doubt exists that body fat measuring scales are one of the easiest ways to calculate body fat percentage. They are convenient and do not have to cost you an arm and a leg. They can also be more accurate than other methods like calipers, which can have a lot of human error in the measurements and calculations.

Many people do not have access to a facility that performs underwater measurements of body density and body fat. And for those of you who do, you will find out it can be time consuming and not so cost friendly. A body fat scale is cost friendly alternative.

With these scales, you can check you body fat percentage whenever you want to without incurring an extra cost each time. You also do not have to hassle with body fat calipers. You can obtain body composition without the help of an expert.

How a Body Fat Monitor and Scale Works

Body fat scales work using Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA). Sounds confusing, but what this basically means is that the scale sends a small electric current through your body. The current passes through fat tissue slower than it does muscle.

So?

More Fat = More Resistance = Higher Body Fat Percentage

Sounds pretty simple but this is where our first disadvantage comes in. The scale does not measure body fat percentage but rather measures body density. The scale then uses a formula to calculate body fat. Unfortunately, there are a number of formulas that can be used to do this.

Different formulas factor things in such as age, gender, body size, and fitness level. Using the wrong formula could give you the wrong results. There are many scales like the Tanita BC554 Ironman, that offer options for athletes.

The Bottom Line

If you want a body fat monitor and scale all rolled into one, then body fat scales are a great way to measure progress. As long as you use the same scale with each measurement, you can monitor changes in body fat over time. If you keep seeing a decrease in your percent body fat, you can take that as real change.

Remember:

The number may not be "true" but changes are.

Whenever you measure yourself, you want to keep things as similar as possible. Food intake, water intake, physical activity and temperature can affect results. You should keep a few things in mind before stepping on a body fat scale to keep your readings as consistent as possible.