Smart Body Scale — The Most Convenient and Easy Way to Measure Your Body Fat Percentage

So, you’ve finally mustered up the courage to start your fitness journey. Now what? You’re exercising and weighing yourself regularly, and you maintain a balanced diet.

But how do you know you’re making any real progress, especially in the early stages? We understand how challenging all of this can be.

Especially when faced with an onslaught of information online. The good news is — there’s light at the end of the tunnel.

In this post, we’ll some key phrases you’ll need to know and discuss the most accurate ways to measure one’s body fat percentage (e.g., skin calipers, Eros Scale, body pods, etc).

Let’s get started!

Are BMI and BFP the Same Thing?

You’ve probably heard of the acronym BMI once or twice — whether at a regular doctor’s check-up or your local gym. The body mass index, or BMI, is often used to indicate one’s overall health. 

The origin of the term itself dates back to the 19th century, a Belgian statistician, Adolphe Quetelet, and his attempt to define the average man.

In 1835, he discovered that the best way to achieve optimal results was to square the ratio of weight to height, thus leading to the emergence of BMI. 

However, it wasn’t until 1985 that the National Institute of Health acknowledged the body mass index as an easy way to assess risk for obesity-related illnesses.

That said, this measurement isn’t very reliable. For instance, you may have more mass than average for your height but still be healthy if you are very muscular. 

Fast forward to today and the age of the smart body fat scale — researchers have come up with more accurate ways to assess one’s body composition.

The body fat percentage, or BFP, is a number that shows one’s body fat in proportion to their lean mass, tissues, water, and organs.

As a result, nowadays, medical professionals rely on BFP to determine one’s risk for developing certain diseases.

Ways to Measure Body Fat Percentage

Now that you know the difference between your body mass index and body fat percentage, let’s look closer at ways to calculate the latter.

• DEXA scans — We’ll start with the most reliable and expensive method. A dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry scan gives you an in-depth analysis of your lean mass, body fat, and bone density by capturing images of your whole body. 
• Skin calipers — This procedure has been around for over half a century. A professional uses skin calipers to measure one’s subcutaneous fat by pinching the skin at different locations on the body. Calipers are also relatively affordable, but the accuracy heavily depends on the person performing the test. 
• Hydrostatic weighing — This method is reasonably quick to perform and involves submerging yourself fully in water following an exhale. Hydrodensitometry measures your BFP based on the amount of water that’s displaced while you’re underwater. Like DEXA scans, the test is pretty accurate and quite pricey. 
• Bioelectrical impedance scales — The star of today’s post is its majesty, the smart body composition scale. Bioelectrical impedance analysis and the devices that rely on it measure how your body responds to electrical currents. They are affordable and reasonably accurate, but more on these scales later. 
• Bod pods — The subject will step into an egg-shaped pod, measuring their BFP through volume and weight. As you may notice, this method is similar to hydrostatic weighing. However, rather than water, this plethysmography test uses air.

How Accurate Are Smart Scales

We’ve already mentioned that an intelligent scale with body fat metrics is the perfect mixture of affordability and accuracy.

While bioelectric impedance analysis sounds like a mouthful, the technology behind it is relatively simple.

What scales using BIA technology do is measure the speed at which the current travels through your body.

When you step on the scale, the sensors register resistance from body fat, higher than lean muscle.

The price and accuracy of your scale will depend on the complexity of the algorithm it employs.

Let’s take the eros scale as an example — it uses BIA technology, gender, age, level of physical activity, weight, and height to estimate within +/- 3% of the DEXA-scan result standard.  

Furthermore, this scale is handy because it tracks 13 key metrics, including BFP, BMI, BMR, metabolic age, bone mass, water percentage, and more. The auto-calibrating sensors can handle loads up to 400 lbs.

Once you connect the scale with its free proprietary app, you can begin tracking your fitness journey.

Another great thing is that there isn’t a limit on the number of users, so your whole family can join in. 

Conclusion

Deciding on the best method of determining BFP is not easy. Many options are available, and it all boils down to your personal preference, needs, and budget.