Where do I find this body fat information

[slmorris05]

Exactly, where do I find this body fat information? I swear it use to be BMI which my scale tells me now it seems the Fitbit app wants Body fat. My Fitbit app has never filled out these fields by itself. Where do I get this information? I was reading one formula and it needed my neck measurement. Anybody else think this is a change from the previous? It is no longer BMI? ??

Moderator edit: clarified subject.

[Julia_G · Accepted solution]

Hi, @slmorris05 , you do not need to set a body fat goal, or enter this information.  However, if you do have a scale that tells you this, you can log it manually in your Fitbit app, if you want to monitor it and keep track of changes.  If you have a scale that directly syncs to Fitbit (for example the Fitbit Aria 2 scale, or the Withings scales) that measures body fat, it will be filled in automatically without need of a manual log.  

Be aware that body fat calculations from basic scales rely on electrical impedance (the scale sends a tiny electric charge up one leg and down the other and makes a calculation based on that - fat is pretty dense and electricity doesn’t go through it easily, so that is the basis of the calculation - and this calculation can be significantly off.  Scales that have hand holds added may be a little more accurate, but in any case it is a number you should probably take as an estimated range, rather than an absolute.  As a woman I think the advice is that you should aim for somewhere between 20-35%, with older women usually more at the upper range.

Your BMI is still the internationally recognised stat for determining healthy weight (although it does have its limitations and its critics as a measure, and may not be correct for everyone - e.g. non white persons, very fit athletes, etc).  Your Fitbit app will calculate your BMI for you if you have correctly entered you height and weight when setting up your account, and will update each time you manually or automatically enter a weight.

So the short answer is, you can enter a body fat percentage if you have a means of measuring it, but it is not required.  Your Fitbit still calculates your BMI whenever you update your weight.  (Click on any weight in your log on the app to see the calculated BMI.)

[slmorris05]

Mine has never calculated my mine automatically. I thought that is what we entered. Now I see body fat and no bmi.. If I leave it blank it stays blank.  

[Julia_G]

Hi, @slmorris05 , as I mentioned above, body fat is not calculated by your Fitbit app.  If you know it, you can enter it manually, or some scales will link directly to your Fitbit app and fill it in for you.  The Fitbit Aria scale does this, and so does the Withings scale.  There are probably others that sync directly to the app.

The app does calculate BMI automatically for you as long as you have entered your height and weight (the calculation for BMI involves a fair bit of arithmetic so is a little complicated and much easier for the app to calculate it for you!)

I have posted some pictures from the iOS app to see if that helps you.  From the opening, Today screen of the app click on the weight tile.  On the next page you will see something like this.  If you click on any weight it will take you to the details page where you will see your calculated BMI

I hope these pictures make it clearer.

I have posted pictures from the iOS app but the Android app works similarly - you need to find the weight listings, which will show weight and body fat percentage and then click on that day to see BMI.  

If you can post what you are seeing on the Android, I can show you where to go to find BMI info.