Aria 2 Weight vs. Body Fat Inconsistency

[Michael400]

Since getting my Aria 2 scale last week, I’ve noticed something that makes no sense. With each succeeding day, the body fat reading continues to trend upward - even though with today’s reading my weight is at its lowest since I’ve been using the scale.

That makes no sense. What could be wrong? And has anyone else been noticing this?

[JohnnyRow]

Fitbit scales measure body fat % by resistance to a very small electric current passed through the body.  Water/blood has very little resistance.  Muscles are differentiated from fat by muscles, being active, having a lot more blood in them, offering less resistance.

So your body fat % is very sensitive to body fluids.  In the short time, if you are dehydrated, even slightly, that can give the appearance of a higher fat %, and vice versa.  So it could be that you have just been losing some water/body fluids the past few days, or just started out retaining extra water.  In the same way, fat % can seem to vary throughout the day, depending on if you've been drinking a lot of water or are dehydrated from just exercising.  So it is best to take readings same time every day, preferably soon after getting up and using the bathroom. So there can be relatively small be day-to-day fluctuations in fat % that don't mean much.  Real changes are more likely reflected in longer term trends, weeks and months.

Here are some tips for improving accuracy of scale measurements:

How can I get the most accurate reading on my Fitbit scale?

[Michael400]

I use the scale right after I wake up and use the restroom. Dehydration could be an explanation, but to where it causes my body fat to go from 23.4% to 27.4% in five days while losing three pounds?

[JuanJoFitbit]

@Michael400 Welcome to our Fitbit Community! Since your body fat percentage is still increasing after following the tips that shared my friend @JohnnyRow, please re-calibrate your Aria 2, if you haven't done so by doing the following:

Take out the batteries for 15 seconds and put them back in. After this, weigh yourself 5 times in a row and see if the body fat percentage is more accurate.

Let @JohnnyRow and me know how it goes! 

[Michael400]

Thank you for the additional input, @JuanJoFitbit. I greatly appreciate it. Just FYI, I weighed myself again early this morning, and that trend continued - lost another 1.4 pounds, but also got another higher body fat % reading at 28.6%. I’ll follow your recommendation and let you know how it goes.

Thanks again! 👍🏻

[JuanJoFitbit]

@Michael400 You are welcome! I appreciate the time you'll take in trying the the workaround shared above. Please don't hesitate to keep us posted on the outcome and we'll be glad to assist you accordingly.

See you around! 

[Michael400]

FYI @JuanJoFitbit, I followed your recommendation on the batteries. This morning’s weigh-in resulted in no weight change, but the body fat % started trending downward with each weigh-in. I weighed 12 times, with the final body fat % landing at 27.8%. But I still believe that’s higher than what it really is.

However, let’s see if this trend continues over the next couple days and eventually settle on a more representative number. Will keep posting to this thread.

Thanks!

[BeachGuy78]

I am also having a similar issue.  I've been using Aria2 since the beginning of March, 2019.  During that time my BF% has consistently gone down as I started exercising.  Starting at 25.5% BF (2/25/2019) to 19.7% BF (4/1/2019). 

However, since 4/1/19, my body fat has consistently gone up consistently since 4/1/19.  To the point that now Aria2 is measuring me at 27.4% BF this morning.  Weighing myself at the same time each day.  I understand dehydration, etc. and I'm drinking about a gallon of water on average, but I think an increase of almost 8% BF in just a few days is a bit drastic.  My weight during the same time period has decreased from 237.6 to 220.9.  I do a ton of cardio and strength training 6 days/week.  My Fitbit Charge 3 has me at a 28 day average of 13,015 steps.  

Why is the change so extreme in the past 3-4 days.  Something seems off to me.

[JohnnyRow]

Sometimes it is interesting to multiply body fat % times weight for each day, to see what it is actually saying for pounds of fat, as well as % fat.  Sometimes when my weight and % jump around, I find the calculated pounds of fat stay fairly constant.

[Michael400]

@BeachGuy78, try @JuanJoFitbit‘s recommendation of removing/replacing the batteries, as he describes above. I’ve been trending back downward since doing that. Today I gained a little weight, but body fat % continues to inch back down.

[JuanJoFitbit]

@Michael400 Thank you for getting back and trying the troubleshooting steps recommended above. If you see that the issue persists during the weekend, let me know and I'll be happy to follow up.

@BeachGuy78 Thank you for joining us in this thread! I'm sorry to hear that your Aria 2 is also providing inconsistent weight and body fat readings. As @Michael400 mentioned, please try the batteries workaround. After this, weigh yourself 5 consecutive times and see if the issue gets fixed.

Thank you for your help my friend @JohnnyRow! 

See you guys later! 😀

[Michael400]

@JohnnyRowand @JuanJoFitbit, I wanted to let you know the downward trending of my body fat readings has continued over the last few days, even though my weight has remained mostly the same. Still, at 27% (the latest reading) I think it’s still higher than what it really is.

But the fact that there’ve been no increases in the readings leads me to believe the Aria 2 body fat scale is still trying to adjust itself after the batteries were replaced.

[JuanJoFitbit]

@Michael400 I'd like you to check out one more workaround Please make sure that your profile settings (height, weight and gender) are correct. After this, make sure that your scale is placed on a hard surface and you are stepping on it barefoot.

If these details are already covered, let me know and I'll be happy to follow up.

[Michael400]

@JuanJoFitbit, everything checks out fine in my profile. I keep my Aria 2 on a hard tile floor.

What next? The gradual body fat downward trend continued this morning, when it measured 27% on my first weigh and 26.7% on my last of weigh of the morning.

[JuanJoFitbit]

@Michael400 Since the issue persists, I'll send your case to our Support team so they can investigate further and provide a solution. You will receive an email from them soon.

Let me know if you have any doubts! 😀