Hello!

Has anyone had much to do with scales that measure your body fat and body water percentages? Are they all that accurate?

I'm having a hard time believing mine is...the weight part is definitely right though lol :P

Liv

I have one and totally don't agree with it. It keeps telling me my percentage is 39 or 40, which according to the book is obese and BMI-wise I haven't been obese in 20 lbs. I also know I've been building muscle in this time, so I'm pretty sure that part of my scale is a big liar. The weight part is right though, cause it matches my analog scale.

They are not so good. I don't have any idea what my body fat is now so it is hard to judge, but about 4 years ago my body fat was 16.5% and the scale said over 30. Unfortunately, as time goes on that 30 is becoming more and more accurate. But to answer your question, they are not very accurate at all!

The only way to get an accurate reading is to do that "dunk tank" thing where they immerse you completely in water I have a scale with the body fat %. I don't think its completely accurate, but hey it is going down with my weight so it can't be all that bad. I do notice it fluctuates if I'm bloated or not, etc so there are certain things that can effect it.

They usually have a margin of plus or minus 5%. That being said, mine used to read 29% and I knew that wasn't right for what I weighed and my muscle mass. So, I looked through the directions and there is an athlete mode on mine. Basically, it said if you exercised more than so many hours a week, you should switch it to athlete mode. I did that and the reading said 21%. That was much more on target for what I thought it should be. So, you may want to read your manual, especially if you exercise alot.

PS, if you own the handheld one by Omron, like I do, that also has an athlete mode.

Mine generally says I'm 24%-25% depending on the day. Although I have no idea if it's right it never seems to budge, regardless of how much I weight. But maybe it's right.
They're a fun feature but not the most trustworthy things in the world.