What do you think about this, okay my mom went to the doctor's office today and the scale their had her at about a 21 pound weight difference than the scales at our home. We have 3 scale that all read the same weight. So I was wondering which scales would you trust? Your scale or the doctors? This has not been the only time the scales have been different though, because when she went to the doctor last time it was about the same weight difference. So what do you think about this? Should we trust the doctors scale or ours?

Hey Ally88,

The doctor's scale is the "official" one for medical records, so probably you should go by that one.

How old are your scales at home? Do you have them on a tile or linoleum floor? Those things can make a difference. Are they the kind that need a battery? The batteries might be old.

Jay

Also keep in mind that at home, you're probably weighing in the morning, after a BM/peeing, without any clothes on. By the afternoon, the liquid/solids you've eaten combined with the clothes you're wearing (mine actually weighed me wearing BOOTS the last time I was there) could easily make a 10 pound difference...but a 21 pound difference is pretty big! If three of your home scales read one thing, and the doc's reads something WAY different, I might ask the doc. next time your there how often the scales are calibrated. Those big doc's office scales need to be calibrated occasionally to keep them weighing properly. A good way to know if your home scales are accurate is take a 5 pound dumbbell (or whatever size dumbells you may own) and set it on your home scales. If they read 5 pounds, then they're pretty well calibrated--if they're off, then that will translate in a person to being many pounds off, if that makes sense.

Hi JayEll, yeah I am leaning toward the doctor's scale. Well we have three scales, two of them are about 4 years old and the other one we got just a few months ago. One scale is on a carpet, another is on tile, and I have the newest one in my room and it's on wood floor. Lol so they are all on various types of floors. The batteries in the scales are fresh too, so I wonder why their is such a big difference?

Azure, yeah I tried the weight thing and they are pretty much accurate (maybe 1 or 2 pounds off, but thats not much).

I would -not- necessarily count on a doctors scale being the correct one just because it is at a doctors office. I would take something you know the weight of, like a 10 lb dumbbell, and place it on your home scales. If they are off, you know that your scales are off somehow.

Lots of doctors offices are not as good about calibrating their scales as you think they might be. Best way to know about your own scales is to check them yourself!

Yes... from what you've told us, it sounds like maybe the doc's scale is off. Let them know--maybe no one has checked it in awhile.

Jay

Yeah it probably is off, anyway thanks.

I would ask the doc when was the last time they had their scale checked. I know my doc has hers done every 6 months. You can't really heck a scale at the low end 5 or 10lbs and know it if it accurate at the high end over 100 for example. From what I have been told, doctors keep their scales pretty accurate but this might not be the case with your doctor. I don't even have a scale at home. Go to the docs office twice a month and do a weight in. Doesn't cost anything.

i guess it just matters that the scale goes down, don't forget about the time of day, what you ate and have done that day, and shoes.