ARE BODY FAT PERCENTAGE SCALES worth the money? I mean are they accurate? Im only about 25lbs overweight?

I can afford it but dont want to waste my money if it's inaccurate

Public Comments

1. I have a $100 scale/body fat measurement, and my body fat percentage in the morning is about 6% higher than when i weigh myself after work. I suggest buying some good old fashioned calipers to measure body fat.
2. The body fat percentage scales are not worth their money, and they are not accurate. The most accurate way to get your body fat percentage is via calipers. You can go to a doctor, buy your own, or if you belong to a gym, a personal trainer can measure for you.
3. Just my opinion - these scales are next to useless. You don't really need to know your percentage body fat, and the scales themselves are not accurate. You can actually get more useful information by the old-fashioned rule of "pinch an inch" - where you pinch the skin at places where you accumulate fat, and you are in the correct ballpark when you can't pinch more than one inch.
4. Body fat percentage scales are okay if you want a general estimate. However, they are limited in their accuracy. I assume the ones you are talking about are using electrical current to estimate body fat %. A water immersion test is the the most accurate to determine your true body fat percentage. Body fat percentage can be very useful in determining your health. Your overall weight can be very deceving because even a person of normal BMI weight can have a high body fat % and a person who is BMI overweight can have a low to normal body fat %. It really comes down to how much lean muscle you have. I hope this helps.
5. Mine is very accurate for myself, daughter, and nephew. But with my wife, it seems to rarely ever change. But she is less disciplined. Some models may be better for men than women, or more fit folks. My nephew had his body fat numbers go from 30% to 21% to back to 30% in a year. Reflected his weight control and exercise effort, and then falling off again. Overnight changes are normal, since you lose between 1 and 2 pounds of water overnight from respiration, since we breathe out water vapor. You also store fat overnight, and burn some calories while asleep. Weight yourself at the same time of day so you have an accurate comparison from day to day or week to week. My daughter's BF varies slowly from 16% - 21%, with 18% her norm. Mine stays between 13% and 15.5%. I think it can help you recognize small changes that continue in the right, or wrong, direction. If your body fat is creeping down for two weeks, that's very good. If its creeping up, that's not good, and you can make appropriate changes before you need a bigger wardrobe.
6. Body fat scales are not that accurate. You might want to invest in a pair of body fat callipers instead. You can buy the Accu-Measure body fat callipers off Ebay and they are very good value for money.
7. Your mirror is your most accurate scale...Do you like what you see or not so much? You say you're about 25 pounds over so the mirror will show you that. The actual number isn't important. Just a few weeks on a 1200 calorie a day eating plan with 30 to 40 minutes of sweat 7 days a week will shed those pounds in no time...good luck