Aria 2 inaccurate body fat readings

[Emilyinyyc]

I recently completed an in-depth bio metrics analysis using a BodPod, the most accurate commercial analysis on the market, and learned I had 17% body fat. The Aria 2 tells me I have 29.5% body fat. I am a fitness instructor and muscular body type and believe the first number is more accurate. Is anyone else having this same issue? Or does my Aria 2 need to be returned?

Moderator edit: updated subject for clarity

[Concord]

I hear where you are coming from. I recently posted that the "weight" on my new Aria 2 was reading high. The body fat% was also somewhat distorted from the OMNI meter I have. I have come to a conclusion that we are all so taken in by technology that we have come to expect more than what can be delivered. Everybody's idea of value vs. performance is different. I have resigned myself to the fact that anything costing $129 is not going to perform like high end fitness measuring equipment. I'm keeping my scale and have accepted the fact that I will ignore my new baseline / starting point, and just monitor the changes from there. If my Aria 2 improves with use, so much the better. Now that I think of it, it really wasn't difficult to enter information manually .... Lol .... Love new technology!

[elavetti]

I just got mine last night and used it this morning.  I have two other scales and have tracked my body fat closely for years now.  The Aria 2 is reading about 15% higher than all other measures.  I suppose the possibility exists that this is accurate (though I highly doubt it and don't even know if my body could support that little LBM), but I found an issue with the original Aria which apparently modified some account settings (such as gender) when connecting to a new Wifi network and displayed dramatically inaccurate body fat percentages.  

My gender didn't seem to change but when I looked at my account it changed my height from 6'0" to 2'4" (several times actually).  I bring this up because, while I haven't solved the issue myself this morning, it could be a technical bug that hasn't been addressed yet.  I am going through the procedure of setting up and updating all linked items to see if I can uncover it via trial and error.  Will keep updated.

[JanJonker]

I got mine yesterday... old scale measures my fat% typically at 22%, the Aria 2 surprised me with a stunning 11%.

[Ash_S]

I have the same problem. reads mine 7% higher than Boditrax.

Deciding to return or not?!

[Concord]

I really am not confident in any equipment that uses bioelectrical impedance. For example, I have a OMRON HBF model Body Fat Analyzer that uses BI. It also relies on "age" as a compensation factor when calculating body fat. I can change the age only on this machine and body fat % varies wildly. I'm not sure of the Aria 2 scales programming, but if it uses similar compensation factors, nobody should be completely dependant on the results.

[Emilyinyyc]

Update on this issue - I went to return my Aria 2 due to the inaccuracy, and was informed that i have to pay the return shipping costs, even though the unit is poor quality. Since I am shipping from Canada that will be at least $40. Guess I'm stuck with it, but very disappointed in the customer service. Will be my last FitBit purchase 😞 

[Ash_S]

This is exactly what they said to me! Really disappointed.

Sent from my iPhone

[ndmoreau]

Something similar is happening with my unit. My scale puts me at 23%BF which would put me just outside the obese category. Looking in the mirror I don't think that is correct... Measuring my neck and waist puts me between 15-17%. This has to be a bug with the new scale, hopefully a firmware update fixes it for us. 

[SunsetRunner]

Male, 27 years old, 97 kg body weight, 42 cm around neck and 94 cm around my waist. This puts me at 19.3% body fat according to all calculators that I've found, while my Aria 2 claims that I am 27% body fat. 

Should I return the scale or will there be a firmware fix? Obviously I am not the only one who is way off in their measurements...

[Aceboogie]

I’m having some accuracy issues also. I lift weights and do cardio, and fairly muscular. This scale says that my body fat percentage is 38%, which I’m pretty sure is way off. My wife, who considers herself “fluffy” has the same percentage as I do and NEVER works out. I hope there’s a solution 

[Concord]

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@Aceboogie wrote:

I’m having some accuracy issues also. I lift weights and do cardio, and fairly muscular. This scale says that my body fat percentage is 38%, which I’m pretty sure is way off. My wife, who considers herself “fluffy” has the same percentage as I do and NEVER works out. I hope there’s a solution 

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That's more than a trivial issue. There is just too much going on with this scale. Although mine is not as far off as yours, it is apparent that something is seriously wrong with this product. I was caught up in the convenience of this scale, but it has turned out to be a door stop. My physician's scale and OMRON body fat meter was good enough. Oh well.

[Rhinohide]

The body fat measurement goes up each time I weigh. It’s now up to 36% which I’m fairly sure is impossible. 

[Ash_S]

does anyone from fitbit would like to respond to these issues?

[Michael]

@EmilyinyycHave you tried changing your profile for the scale from "regular" to "lean" and then weigh yourself a couple more times? (I think it takes one weigh-in for the scale to get the new setting.)

You can read a little about the modes and how to change them here: http://help.fitbit.com/articles/en_US/Help_article/2223/#lean

[JanJonker]

Per suggestion of FitBit Support I changed my profile, which was set to Lean but not by me, to Normal. Instead of the around 10% Bodyfat the scale indicated the last few days, it now shows around 13%.Obviously a long way of from the 22% of my previous scale. Was this device FDA approved? If yes, how are such differences possible?

[Ash_S]

Fitbit says: “Lean” mode is intended for professional or very high-level athletes like marathon runners or body builders. I am neither. I exercise 6-7 days a week, and I am around 18% body fat. I consider myself regular, and 25% BF seems very inaccurate.

I am also very disappointed that Fitbit is asking me to foot the bill when returning the (heavy!) device from London to Netherlands. I will cost a fair bit, but I have decided, and will be returning it tomorrow.

[SunsetRunner]

I am going to bump this thread since I am annoyed that no fitbit representative has yet to answer this thread even though they are very active in the others. Unless we get an acknowledgement that this is a serious issue that is being worked on I will return my scale within the next few days...

[Ash_S]

I already have sent it back, and they said I should foot the bill (£42!!!)

Sent from my iPhone

[ErikVerm]

Today we did a skinfold measurement. Fat percentage 13,51% while the scale calculated 16%. I think that's pretty decent for a product costing just over €100.