Weighing scales & body fat monitors.

Hi,
I've googled and seen a couple of conversations on this, but the go
way back to mid '06.

Last week, I bought a Tanita TBF 602 {for 65 Euro} and have been
having some fun experimenting with it.
This models allows for 2 people to use it (not simultaneously) without
re-setting the details (height & gender) and there is a booklet which
provides guidelines as to ideal fat/age ratio.

Firstly, I do gardening/landscaping for a living. I work long days and
everything nearly always has to have been done yesterday.
I have a 20 year old part time footballer for a colleague and he finds
it can often be tough going. So you get the picture. I should be fit.

The maximum % fat it suggests for guys my age is 23%.
So, imagine my surprise to find that I am supposedly 35.5.
My wife's details however, far kinder than my own, seemed more
probable.

Then I noticed that it changes ... not only because of time of day,
and not because of recently drinking water but according to what I'm
wearing and what I might have in my pockets.
But did change after gorging on delicious, traditional, homemade,
Christmas pudding.

So, readings, when naked, or when wearing, say, only cotton, or mixed
fabrics, with or without wallet and paper tissues vary widely
regardless of time of day, exercise done, or intake of foo or liquids.

Just for fun, we've a large black cat who, according to Mrs a.,
doesn't eat a lot, but he's still got quite a belly and weighs in at
nearly 7.5kgs... and the large volumes of cat food I hauled home not
so long ago seems nearly gone. Urm...
Anyhow, Mrs a went on the scales earlier today and was pleased to not
her weight had dropped, but not so pleased to see the %fat had shot up
several points.
Undeterred, she repeated the exercise with big fat black cat in her
arms and the % fat shot up by another 9.5 points %.

So, as you can see, what you wear, or are holding (and maybe what you
may be physically in contact with) can make a difference.

And now another possibility;
After I did it today, I got off and suddenly realised I'd forgotten to
check my weight. So, I tapped it on again and stepped on, but on
seeing my weight, I suddenly saw my %fat had dropped suddenly to
19%... from less than a minute earlier, with no change in clothing (or
its contents) and no cat in sight.
However, my wife had placed it near an electrical power socket/ plug-
socket and just behind me, (on a tiled floor) there were the speakers
from the music centre.
So, either its proximity to a plug socket, or relates to the output
from the speakers... or I'm an alien.

BTW, I see today that our local Aldi store are now selling such
scales, (I don't know which) except that they not only measure weight
and body fat, but also water retention levels and muscle mass.
So, that's one week after I've bought mine, it does 2 other readings
of interest and all for a mere 23.99 Euro
GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

On Dec 31 2007, 7:27 am, aquachimp
<aquach....RemoveThis@aquachimp.freeserve.co.uk> wrote:
> Hi,
> I've googled and seen a couple of conversations on this, but the go
> way back to mid '06.

I know; can you believe it? I'd asked about them earlier this year,
too, and nobody seemed to know very much.

> Last week, I bought a Tanita TBF 602 {for 65 Euro} and have been
> having some fun experimenting with it.
> This models allows for 2 people to use it (not simultaneously) without
> re-setting the details (height & gender) and there is a booklet which
> provides guidelines as to ideal fat/age ratio.

Does it have an "athlete" setting? The Homedics ones now have a
separate algorithm or equation for "athletic" body masses (though
endurance and strength athletes are often as different as athletes and
non-athletes!), which should prove more accurate.

> Firstly, I do gardening/landscaping for a living. I work long days and
> everything nearly always has to have been done yesterday.
> I have a 20 year old part time footballer for a colleague and he finds
> it can often be tough going. So you get the picture. I should be fit.

I've worked as a landscaping assistant once -- operated augers,
tillers, even put up sections of wood posts myself. It's not that bad
if you take your time, which you're supposed to anyway, according to
OSHA!

> The maximum % fat it suggests for guys my age is 23%.
> So, imagine my surprise to find that I am supposedly 35.5.
> My wife's details however, far kinder than my own, seemed more
> probable.

Well, these things weren't ever noted for their accuracy. Even now,
with many models offering settings that take into account the
particular conditions of an athletic body, they don't seem to
distinguish between the typically slim physique of runners and the
usually bulky ones of weight-lifters, so it's still debatable how
accurate these things could be....

> Then I noticed that it changes ... not only because of time of day,
> and not because of recently drinking water but according to what I'm
> wearing and what I might have in my pockets.

That's somewhat understandable. Body composition fluctuates
throughout the day, and it's possible for any metal you have on you to
affect the electric impulses by which these devices work.

> But did change after gorging on delicious, traditional, homemade,
> Christmas pudding.
>
> So, readings, when naked, or when wearing, say, only cotton, or mixed
> fabrics, with or without wallet and paper tissues vary widely
> regardless of time of day, exercise done, or intake of foo or liquids.

Hmm...reminds me of the old MILES system employed by Army infantry
training -- it was "laser tag," and the lasers were easily blocked by
a mere leaf, which a bullet would never be...sounds like a similar
situation here, with whatever technology is employed by these
scales....

> Just for fun, we've a large black cat who, according to Mrs a.,
> doesn't eat a lot, but he's still got quite a belly and weighs in at
> nearly 7.5kgs... and the large volumes of cat food I hauled home not
> so long ago seems nearly gone. Urm...
> Anyhow, Mrs a went on the scales earlier today and was pleased to not
> her weight had dropped, but not so pleased to see the %fat had shot up
> several points.
> Undeterred, she repeated the exercise with big fat black cat in her
> arms and the % fat shot up by another 9.5 points %.

Black cats are bad luck! And fat ones are the worst!! That's why
your scale was working weirdly, LOL....

> So, as you can see, what you wear, or are holding (and maybe what you
> may be physically in contact with) can make a difference.

Yeah, we ain't at a Star Trek body scan yet!

> And now another possibility;
> After I did it today, I got off and suddenly realised I'd forgotten to
> check my weight. So, I tapped it on again and stepped on, but on
> seeing my weight, I suddenly saw my %fat had dropped suddenly to
> 19%... from less than a minute earlier, with no change in clothing (or
> its contents) and no cat in sight.

Ah, could this be the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle at work on
macroscopic objects??? LOL....

> However, my wife had placed it near an electrical power socket/ plug-
> socket and just behind me, (on a tiled floor) there were the speakers
> from the music centre.
> So, either its proximity to a plug socket, or relates to the output
> from the speakers... or I'm an alien.

I'm sure the electrical impulse technology behind these scales are
very sensitive to all kinds of electromagnetic field fluctuations,
given how weak its own electric impulses have to be (or else you'd get
zapped)...??

> BTW, I see today that our local Aldi store are now selling such
> scales, (I don't know which) except that they not only measure weight
> and body fat, but also water retention levels and muscle mass.

Yeah, these are the latest models. You often see them in runner's
magazines. Interestingly, they don't bother advertising in the
bodybuilding ones!

> So, that's one week after I've bought mine, it does 2 other readings
> of interest and all for a mere 23.99 Euro
> GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

I now consider these things novelty items and interesting office
holiday party grab-bag gifts more than serious home electronics.