If you’re looking to lose a little weight, or simply to get fitter, you need data and measurements to help track your progress. Knowing your weight is a start, but not all weight is created differently—what percentage of your body is muscle mass and what percentage fat can tell you a lot more about your fitness and health. Today’s hi-tech bathroom scales mimic the sort of metrics you can access in health clubs and gyms. Here’s what to look for.
If knowing your weight in stone, pounds or kilograms is enough for you, that’s fine, of course—most scales these days are digital, and will give a high, reliable accuracy reading. But for those who want more information, look for scales that do more, via electrode sensors.
Connecting to phones and FitBits, and synching with apps, the new generation scales can share information to multiple devices, allowing unlimited users to track goals, and for families and groups to share progress and information.
Modern scales can tell you more than just your weight—they can measure body mass index, muscle mass and subcutaneous fat, too. However, they still cannot replicate the readings taken in clinics and hospitals—and are not a substitute.