Balance
A decisive factor when purchasing a scale for private households is the number of electrodes. If the scale works without electrodes, it is usually imprecise, because the current looks for the shortest path and this goes directly through the legs, so that the measurement is only made here. If, however, two additional electrodes are attached, the current also makes its way through the arms and the middle of the body, which makes the measurement result much more accurate.
The measurement itself is, as described, very convenient and suitable for home use and also provides sufficient results. The measuring principle described above is more reduced in the home version, as the membrane capacity is usually not taken into account in these devices. Furthermore, the measurement is not carried out lying down, but standing up, as with a standard scale for measuring weight.
Therefore, these different devices also have very different prices. In contrast to the BIA procedure, which some practices carry out and which takes place while lying down, there is also the possibility of using a body fat scale, which in principle works according to the same principle. However, this is far less accurate and does not even allow cell density or hormonal disorders to be detected.
Depending on the number of adhesive electrodes, their accuracy can increase. The advantage is that it is much easier to use, because the patient only has to stand on it and a presentable result is immediately displayed. The scale is also much cheaper to purchase.
(Costs: Already available from 50 Euro for private households, but in different equipment partly also much more expensive). A conventional BIA, which may only be operated by trained personnel and where the measurement is performed while lying down, is still found in some practices today, but has become rare due to rapid technical progress and the associated home measurement method. The costs for such a device amount to several hundred Euros for a one-time measurement and the health insurance usually does not cover any part of the costs.
When buying such a device, you should pay attention to customer reviews, as the different devices can also produce very different results. As already described above, as different as the costs are, as different are the devices and their function: With some devices, the visceral fat, i.e. the fat in the organs, can be determined, with others it cannot. Most devices can determine the body-mass index, but a few do not provide this performance.
Here the buyer must decide for himself whether he wants to calculate it himself (weight:height^2). In addition, some devices are suitable up to 150kg, others again up to 180kg. In a clinic for obese patients this can be important.
Furthermore, some devices have a memory, others do not. If there is a memory, sometimes 4 people can be stored, in others 10 or more, which makes it easier to use. Size and weight are about the same for most devices.
However, accuracy is probably what most users are most interested in. Here the accuracy varies from “very accurate” to other ranges, to “satisfactory” or just “okay”. In the first place you should buy such a device, if you are interested in its muscle percentage, but if you want to get a very accurate result, know its membrane capacity and also want to know information about its phase angle (ratio of membrane capacity to total resistance), you should use a body monitor from medical practices, which works as described above, which is not suitable for home use for reasons of cost. You might also be interested in the topics: Lowering body fat percentage and muscle building
