A body fat scale sends mild electrical impulses through the soles of the feet to determine the fat content of a person’s physical makeup.
Body fat scales provide a reasonably accurate picture of a person’s overall health while also allowing them to monitor specific issues like bone loss.
Below, our health and wellness experts have compiled their list of the most important benefits provided by body fat scales.
11 Benefits Of The Body Fat Scale
A body fat scale does more than indicate your weight. Here are the major benefits of having (and using) a body fat scale.
1: A body fat scale is a convenient way to track weight loss.
Any decent body fat scale is also going to track your total weight. And while even the best body fat scales can only provide approximate body composition data, the overall weight reading should, and typically is, highly accurate. Therefore, you’ll always be able to keep an eye on the big picture, while you do your best to ensure you’re losing the right kind of weight, i.e., visceral and other types of fat (not muscle mass).
2: A body fat scale provides dependable data.
At least the best ones do. They’ll supply you with a very accurate read on your overall weight and provide you with a good idea of your body fat levels, bone density (1), water content and more. What you do with this data will be up to you. But there are myriad health and fitness apps that will accept data like this and provide you with useful feedback to guide your diet and exercise choices. You can sync the body fat scale to those apps easily via your smartphone.
3: A body fat scale can give you a big picture view of your overall health.
The body fat scale can provide you with a series of measurements that, when taken together, provide you with a clear overall picture of your current health. Contrast that to a standard analog scale like you see in a doctor’s office that uses sliding weights. To learn about other aspects of your current condition, you have to submit to a physical examination. Because it provides usable information on bone density, muscle mass, body water (2) and much more the body fat scale is like undergoing a physical exam every time you step onto the scale.
4: A body fat scale can be integrated with a range of other health-related apps.
There are two principles that underpin much of today’s technology: convergence (3) and compatibility (4). Both are at work in the best body fat scales of 2020. Convergence in the sense that the humble bathroom scale is taking on more and more duties (bone density checker, etc.). Compatibility in the sense that it can be synced with most smartphones. Those smartphones, in turn, are a gateway to innumerable health and fitness apps. They are designed to accept the data produced by the scale and draw relevant conclusions from it. That allows you to make informed lifestyle choices that will benefit your health.
5: A body fat scale can store data on all members of the family.
Body fat scales can create and store numerous user profiles. That means that when you step on the scale, it will identify you and present information about you that it has gleaned over time. When you leave the bathroom and your teenager enters and steps on the scale, it will identify them and present information it has collected about them. This enables each user to keep constant track of various trends regarding their health, which should, in theory anyway, make it easier to maintain good health.
6: A body fat scale makes a handsome addition to your bathroom.
Let’s talk aesthetics for a moment. These scales look great and add a subtle element of sophistication to your bathroom. We’re of a mind that you can never have enough nice things in your home. And today’s body fat scales fall squarely into that category. Most display the clean lines and sleek, minimalist design ethos of the smartphone, the flat-screen TV, the laptop, and other pieces of everyday high-tech. Just watch the way they elevate the atmosphere in the bathroom once you place them on the floor.
7: A body fat scale enables you to track bone density.
While the best body fat scales will track a wide array of metrics, perhaps the most important besides body fat is bone density. This is crucial for older adults who often live with the specter of broken bones looming over their every move. A loss of bone density often goes hand in hand with osteoporosis, and this is typically the precursor to broken bones. Being able to track bone density enables the older individual to stay ahead of the issue and make adjustments to their diet and lifestyle as necessary (5). If the body fat scale does nothing else for a senior citizen, this alone makes it worth the modest investment.
8: A body fat scale allows you to set goals and track progress.
Because the body fat scale can monitor so much more than just overall weight and body fat, it allows you to set exercise and weight loss goals and track your progress on a daily basis. Setting goals is a key component to any successful weight loss program (6). And the body fat scale can provide you information that will enable you to do that. If you are not sure how to go about setting goals, there are dozens of apps available that will help you. Some require only minimal input on your part and can devise a comprehensive strategy for you in no time.
9: A body fat scale helps you stay properly hydrated.
And that’s important because there are few things as crucial to good health as proper hydration. Especially in older individuals (7). Most body fat scales today will measure body water levels. So you get an up to the minute look at your current state of hydration. The scale will not only estimate your current water levels, but it will also determine whether you should be drinking more water. In addition, by stepping on the scale both before and after a vigorous exercise session, you’ll get a good idea exactly how much water you burn off when running, cycling, weightlifting, etc. This helps you determine how much water you should drink during your workout to optimize performance.
10: A body fat scale is an affordable way to keep tabs on your health.
If you have a body fat scale, you probably won’t have to trudge to the doctor’s office for physical exams quite as often. That’s not only important from a convenience point of view, but from a financial point of view as well. Especially for seniors because physicals can be expensive (8) and Medicare does not cover the cost of a physical examination (9). Instead, it covers something called a ‘Wellness exam’ where the doctor weighs you, checks your blood pressure, and asks you how you are.
11: A body fat scale is easier to read than counterweight scales.
In most cases people experience a gradual decline in eyesight as they age. Some of it is preventable and some is not (10). But regardless of why it happens, it happens. One of the great things about today’s body fat scales is that the best ones provide large, uncluttered, easy-to-read displays that can be seen from a standing position. Most are also illuminated so that they can be easily read even in a dark room. Contrast that to traditional counterweight scales that require intense focus on tiny notches in the slides and the corresponding numbers.
Conclusion
A body fat scale is a simple, effective way to keep track of your overall health. It can store data on a variety of users, sync that data with numerous other devices, alert you to potential problems such as a loss of bone density and reduce the number of times you need to go to the doctor for basic checkups. They also look great!