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Weighing scales & body fat monitors.
On Dec 31 2007, 7:27 am, aquachimp
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. |
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