Whether you’re starting a new fitness plan, resolving to get healthy this year, or just trying to watch your weight, it’s time to ditch your old analog scale and upgrade to a smart scale.
What makes a smart scale different from a regular scale?
Standard bathroom scales only tell you your weight, while smart scales give you a more comprehensive view of your body composition that can help you tailor your weight-loss (or muscle-building) plan. They use Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA) technology, which sends small currents through your body to capture body composition measurements.
Not all smart scales track the same measurements, but you can expect to find ones that show you body mass index (BMI), body water percentage, body fat percentage, muscle mass, bone density, fat-free body weight, metabolic age, and more. Of course, smart scales will also tell you your weight.
The number of measurements tracked varies from scale to scale. Some, keep it simple with just a handful of measurements like BMI and body fat, while others track up to 14 different metrics.
Smart scales not only give you all of this information, but they give you the ability to track your body composition data by connecting to your phone via Bluetooth or WiFi. (Bluetooth scales are often easier to set up.) Most smart scales will only show you your weight on the scale’s actual screen or panel. You’ll have to open the mobile app to see the rest of the measurements. Some scales require you to have your phone open to the app nearby in order to pull the data, while others work in the background and will sync with your phone the next time you open the app even if you didn’t have it near you when you stepped on the scale.
Some smart scales do have limits to the number of people who can use them, so if you have a large household you'll likely want one that can accommodate everyone who lives with you. Each person who uses the scale will have their own user profile and the scale automatically knows who's on the scale based on their body composition. (Though, users with similar body types and weights might get mistaken for each other.) If the scale pulls up the wrong profile in the app, you can easily correct it by manually selecting your profile.
Do smart scales really work?
At-home smart scales aren’t going to give you as accurate readings as you could get from a medical professional, but can definitely give you more data than a traditional scale. Your readings might fluctuate more with a home smart scale.
Smart scales are accurate enough for everyday use and can help you track your physical health and fitness goals.
How a smart scale can help you lose weight
It's easy to see how smart scales could promote motivation to stick to losing or maintaining weight. After you step on the scale, your information is recorded and sent to the accompanying app. Most of these apps track your progress in charts and allow you to set goals. Being able to see your goals and see where you are in terms of meeting them can motivate you in ways that simply writing down your weight can’t.
This means you can track things like body fat and muscle mass over time, and most scales and their apps are compatible with other fitness apps like Fitbit, Apple Health, and Google Fit, so you can sync your data where you're already tracking other fitness goals.
Some of these measurements might not be necessary for you to track. If you are just casually trying to watch your weight, you probably don’t need a scale that tracks your bone mass and muscle. But, getting a holistic view of your body composition can promote more mindfulness of your physical health overall.
Can everyone use a smart scale?
Because smart scales use BIA technology, not all of them are recommended for everyone to use. BIA is pretty noninvasive, but some smart scales have warnings for children, pregnant people, and anyone with a pacemaker or similar medical device. If you have any concerns, check with your doctor before using a smart scale.
That said, there are some smart scale models that are designed for tracking pregnancies and child growth if you’re interested in tracking measurements for the whole family. We’ll indicate which ones are OK below.
