Body Composition Monitor

tintin82 · 9 Jul 2011 at 01:40

Anyone use one of these regularly? Any good?

About to purchase a Omron BF511 to replace the aged bathroom scales! Seems to have pretty good reviews.

tom_e · 9 Jul 2011 at 01:41

Complete crap for any sort of accurate bf% measurement

tintin82 · 9 Jul 2011 at 01:44

tom_e said:
Complete crap for any sort of accurate bf% measurement

Really? I thought with the good reviews i read they would be pretty good at their intended purpose?
Can i ask you to expand on why they are 'complete crap'?

thanks

tom_e · 9 Jul 2011 at 01:47

Due to the fact they rely on an electrical charge being passed through the body their results are massively affected by your hydration levels, to be honest they may be useful for tracking trends in your bf levels but dont expect the numbers they give you to be close to what you would get if you had a proper calliper test.

Jay.D · 9 Jul 2011 at 08:06

seconded, use to track trends (Since the margin of error is always the same) and you'll be able to gauge your process.

Mr.Pink · 9 Jul 2011 at 10:58

Thirded, and i have the ones you are about to buy.

They are really accurate with weight, and really helped with my weight loss, but the BF % have not been that accurate. A trainer i know had the hand held ones and they gave odd results too.

Weight accuracy - good. BF percentage readings from these scales haven't been as useful as i would have hoped.

tintin82 · 9 Jul 2011 at 12:07

Ok thanks guys, went and got it anyways.
I had a look at the calipers, but the reviews they were getting were even worse than the scales for dodgy readings.

tom_e · 9 Jul 2011 at 12:16

tgawn said:
Ok thanks guys, went and got it anyways.
I had a look at the calipers, but the reviews they were getting were even worse than the scales for dodgy readings.

It's because ideally you need to learn how to use them properly and have someone else doing it for you.

Psycho Sonny · 9 Jul 2011 at 13:22

why do you need to know your bodyfat percentage anyway?

you would have been better off with a £5 pair of scales from argos and using black magic (a mirror) for free to determine your bodyfat percentage.

£40 wasted imo

tintin82 · 9 Jul 2011 at 14:37

I imagine that the nice feeling of seeing the figures going the right way would provide that little bit reward / incentive to keep on working hard! Similar to when you jump on the scales to see you have lost a good few pound but cant quite see it in the mirror.

Skull · 9 Jul 2011 at 14:44

Equally you could be holding a little water that isn't visible in the mirror, but you hop on the scales and you're 5lbs heavier.

PS suggesting scales and mirror would be the best bet.

I suggest you try measuring your bodyfat with the scales, then spend the next few hours drinking a fair bit of water, and measure again. Tell us what the difference is!