Scales that print out your height/weight/BMI

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quickymart

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#303472 12-Feb-2023 22:47

Are many of these around these days?

These things used to be all over the place, I noticed heaps in Auckland. Basically you stand on a stand, insert $1 (or more recently, $2) and it measures your height and weight, and estimates your BMI based on the above. It then gives you a printout of all your information.

Yes I could get a scale for home but I really like having the printout as a record of my weight loss.

In recent years these could mostly be found near pharmacies but lately they've become quite rare.

Is there an online list or something? In particular I'd like to find ones on the North Shore.

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#3035689 13-Feb-2023 06:03

you know there are these wonderful things called pen and paper where you could write this all down when you weigh yourself at home.

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quickymart

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#3035691 13-Feb-2023 06:24

Cool, thanks for that, I'll take it under advisement. Doesn't answer my question though.

I should point out it's not just me, my partner and kids like to do it this way as well.

morrisk

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#3035698 13-Feb-2023 06:52

Withings have scales that send the information to an app on your phone rather than print t out. They can cope with multiple users. I have records going back for 10 years now held in the app on my phone.

kiwiharry

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#3035701 13-Feb-2023 07:08

morrisk:

Withings have scales that send the information to an app on your phone rather than print t out. They can cope with multiple users. I have records going back for 10 years now held in the app on my phone.

As @morrisk has suggested, look at Smart Scale options that can store the info on a phone app.

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quickymart

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#3035705 13-Feb-2023 07:27

I think that's probably my best bet. Thanks for the helpful suggestions 🙂

alasta

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#3035716 13-Feb-2023 08:23

I have had connected scales from both Garmin and Withings and have been dissatisfied with both, but fortunately you don't need these for your purposes.

Just get a cheap set of scales for $50 at Briscoes, then measure your height and weight manually at whatever interval you desire. If you track your height and weight in a spreadsheet then you can create a formula to derive your BMI.

gehenna

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#3035721 13-Feb-2023 08:43

I have a Xiaomi one at the moment and it's fine. I only really use it for tracking the weight not BMI. I previously had a Fitbit one, but it used battery way too fast.

johno1234

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#3035722 13-Feb-2023 08:44

I'm skeptical of BMI. It's a very broad brush measure and will be a inaccurate indicator for many people. Better alternatives exist for estimating body fat. I am right on the edge of overweight on BMI but am in a "fit" category for body fat of 16%

gehenna

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#3035731 13-Feb-2023 08:59

True, but it's all there is

jonathan18

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#3035739 13-Feb-2023 09:25

gehenna: True, but it's all there is

Is that really an accurate statement? Sure, it’s still the default way, but there are alternatives that attempt to address BMI’s failings and provide a more accurate measurement, eg the relative fat mass index (RFM) includes allowance for the person’s sex (where BMI is regarded as significantly over-reporting obesity in women in particular).

gehenna

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#3035755 13-Feb-2023 09:40

It is based on all the feedback from the medical professionals when I was going through gastro issues with them. They all acknowledge it's not great and not individualised, but it's also an indicator in a range of data points, it's not definitive.

freitasm

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#3035758 13-Feb-2023 09:42

Don't worry about printing. Get a Withings Body Cardio (retail price is a lot lower than the one listed on that page) and you will results in the app. Don't care about BMI? Great, follow fat, muscle composition then (much better). Also shows heart and artery condition.

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johno1234

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#3035824 13-Feb-2023 11:15

gehenna:

True, but it's all there is

One of the problems of BMI is has no idea about your musculature. A person with a lot of fat looks the same to BMI as a lean person with a lot of muscle.

A skin fold caliper test is better than a BMI. There are other tests based on measurements of waist and hips. And the best are body scans that really do reveal the amount and location of fat which could be located internally - around and in your organs but not on your midriff.

MikeAqua

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#3035833 13-Feb-2023 11:28

johno1234:

I'm skeptical of BMI. It's a very broad brush measure and will be a inaccurate indicator for many people. Better alternatives exist for estimating body fat. I am right on the edge of overweight on BMI but am in a "fit" category for body fat of 16%

If you have a muscular build BMI will be a pessimistic measure.

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yann

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#3036159 13-Feb-2023 20:01

I haven't really seen those machines, though I think they occasionally have them at gyms and such for use with personal trainers and health assessments?

I have a Tanita scale at home, and it connects via app (BT) and then stores your data in the app and measures and graphs various data points. Not super accurate, but it does give an indication of things, and the whole BMI thing is questionable etc, but you just look at what you want really. I think a number of smart scales out there do similar things.

I did see on my one that you can export to PDF, so you can download copies of data for each profile, and presumable print it. Not sure whether other are the same, but mine gives something like this, though it is just a screenshot of the pdf.

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