Accurate Bathroom Scales

Battling Obesity

Reducing weight and body fat and increasing muscle are important to proper dieting. Obesity carries a hefty price: heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, diabetes, respiratory problems, and breast, colon and prostate cancers. Yo-yo dieting leads to increased obesity, eating disorders and defective metabolisms. Exercise, healthy eating habits and weight monitoring can reduce health risks. Weight varies throughout the day, so weigh at the same time of day, dress consistently, and rely on an accurate bathroom scale.

Could That Be Right?

Although weight professionals recommend weighing weekly, many people get on their bathroom scales daily. If accuracy is your concern, avoid cheap scales that can be off by 5% of your body weight. Precision can carry a significant price tag. To determine accuracy, step on and off a scale several times, weigh an item with a pre-calculated weight, and make sure the scale returns to zero each time you step off.

Dial-type bathroom scales convert downward pressure to a weight reading; they are inexpensive, but their spring mechanism can give inconsistent readings. One way to improve accuracy is to use the scale on a hard-surface floor. Reset the dial to zero before you firmly plant both feet in place. Even if the reading is not entirely accurate, it will produce a consistent day-to-day record. Please, no shifting of weight or awkward statuesque body positions in an attempt to delete a pound or two. You’re tricking yourself, not the bathroom scale.

Higher-quality parts are used in digital bathroom scales. Some pricey bathroom scales may be priced according to bonus features, and can be inaccurate by 1-2%. If you are willing to sacrifice elaborate memory functions and programs that determine water weight and body fat, you can get a bathroom scale that might be off by a few ounces. Weight fluctuates from day-to-day, but your scale does not have to compound that problem.