this post was submitted on 06 Apr 2025
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Those things are totally bogus if it makes you feel any better. Changes in body composition are not reflected properly via bioelectric impedance.
Truth is every bf% measurement is pretty much just a guess with a huge range of error. Far more practical to find some other measurement to track, such as athletic performance (lifting, cardio times) while keeping a loose eye on your weight
This may be true for most brands/scales, though the Omron body composition scales where you hold the handlebars are clinically validated and used in research
Impedance body fat analysis had a lot of problems, I'll just get into one:
The measurements, even the palm to feet ones on big machines in medical settings with handles, are based on a known level of how much human skin conducts electric currents. I'm part of a genetic group that I'm missing one of the 5 types of collagen and so my skin conducts electricity differently and the impedance machine gives me the exact same 44% BF reading regardless of my actual weight. My doctor had to tell me that impedance BF measurements will never be accurate for me so I have to have a DEXA or skin fold if I want to know for sure. This would have been fine if I hadn't already spent years believing those fucking devices that thinking that even though I was losing fat, I must be doing something wrong be the impedance scale didn't change as they were "scientific".
They aren't that accurate for the whole population, and we don't actually know what percentage of the population they are accurate for because no one has bothered to check.