Aria body fat percentage questions

[CarrieV]

Hi, I have a question on whether it is really possible I'm made up of 33% body fat (according to the aria scale).  Here are my stats:

51 year old woman

5' 6"

132 lbs.

currently wearing a size 6

33% body fat according to the charts means I'm obese.  I don't feel obese.  I know I need to lose 8 more lbs. to be at my ideal weight that I feel best at, but this 33% body fat has been pretty consistent the whole time I've been dieting.  Even after I lose 8 more lbs., I do not think it will be much less than 33% body fat on the aria scale.  I'm definitely not lean, so I know selecting the "lean" category in the settings would not apply to me.

I'm fine with just ignoring this and feeling good about the lbs. I've already lost, but every morning it's still a little depressing to weigh yourself and think how is it possible that 33% of my body is pure fat.

I weigh myself bare foot, dry feet every morning before I shower.  I do not move the scale.  It is sitting on the floor in my bedroom, same spot as always.

Moderator edit: updated subject for clarity

[IAD]

Hi Erinraeh, after the frustration from the nonesense replies coming from evangelists in this forum and no real solution to a real problem and the fact another friend was telling me about how bad quality the bands on her fitbit charge were and so on, I decided to take advantage of the 30-day refund my seller had and I returned all the fitbit products back to them. I haven't decided what to replace them for yet (other than sticking for now with my $10 made in china weight scale that served me well for many years...) Unfortunately I own fitbit stocks as well, but I will try to resolve that issue soon. 

[Shidasoulful1]

I've had the same issue for a year now.  I'm 32 and weigh 126lbs and according to the scale I have a BF% of 30%, which is so freaking wrong.  I recently changed my profile from 5'5" to 6'5 and it's now showing  BF% ~20% which is close to the BF% my doctor calculated at our last appointment.  I hate having to adjust my profile just to get a more accurate read of my BF%.  Do better FitBit.  

[shelleypn]

You changed your profile to get the correct result? Why is no one fixing this issue? It is not the machine. It is the algorithm.

[Rick0502]

Changing your height a foot taller isn't a solution. You should try lean mode. I find lean mode works better for me.

[IAD]

... I hear exorcisms also sometimes work... Cannot tell you myself, I haven't tried it... Some people pray.

[MatthewFitbit]

I think I've explained this pretty thoroughly in my posts earlier in this thread - please check them out. As I explained earlier, there isn't anything here that needs fixing.

[G00mba]

You think that you have explained it Matthew but you haven't. You aren't listening to your customers and treating them like idiots. I returned mine earlier this year 2016 because after an update it started reporting that my body fat percentage went from 17% to 23%. The replacement scale continued to show 23%. I have about 18 months of data to illustrate this sudden change. And others are trying to tell you the same thing. Instead of listening you are waffling on about weight fluctuations. Personally I accept that all scales fluctuate a little depending on how you stand on them. But people are finding suddenly their body fat has changed by 6-7% and you aren't providing any useful answers. If you said "We changed our algorithm in May to align it with more up to date body fat calculations, sorry for the inconvenience " then that would be acceptable, but you are telling your customers that they are imagining things and that's just terrible customer service.

[buddhasoldier3]

Is your bladder full or empty? If your bladder is full it’s going to give you a higher body fat percentage, because water is an electrical conduit. I have a weight watchers scale that calculates how much is water and how much is fat. To getting yourself motivated, weigh yourself after fasting 12 hours, or a completely empty bowel and bladder.

[Kereru]

Recently bought the Aria second hand and initially bod fat hovered around 30 to 33 percent changed the wifi router took battery out to set up new router and now body fat is 40 to 42 percent? I doubt Fitbit will replace it as no longer under warranty. Do I just ignore the readings? I still have my old weight watchers scales and they still show 30 to 33 percent.

[Rick0502]

To all the people who have inaccurate results:

Do you always weigh in around the same time?

As you can see from my results above, I feel my results are fairly accurate. No scale that takes measurements this way is going to be 100% accurate.

You need to be consistent on how you weigh in. For me it's first thing in the morning, right after morning pee, before I eat anything.

[BBQDOUG]

Hello Kereru

Same problem here.  Body fat appeared accurate, but as soon as I changed the wifi router it went up 10% in a single day and has never gone back down. 

[akamara]

Use the Navy Body Fat calculator. It has me at 20 % body fat. Aria says 33% all the time.

http://fitness.bizcalcs.com/Calculator.asp?Calc=Body-Fat-Navy

[Kickboxer007]

Looks like people rather blame a scale than themselves. The moderator has it right. With scales BF% is calculated by sending an electric current through your body. As an athlete, personal trainer and nutritionist I can gaurantee that most users aren't drinking enough water for their readings to be accurate. Another thing is that some people think that if they loose weight it'll translate to a drop in body fat, not the case.

It comes down to diet! Drink 3 litres of water a day and add more water when you exercise. Don't do tons of cardio and limit your carbohydrate intake but invest time in some research (or even personal training) and learn proper exercise and proper diet.

The scale is accurate within 2% for me. Which beats paying thousands of dollars on the technology that gives 100% accuracy.

[IAD]

I am trying so hard to don’t waste more of my time/life with/because of the Fitbit scale, but I feel like Al Pacino “Just when I thought I was out…” What are you guys talking about?

Again, every time you try to measure yourself you get a different number. It looks like if you change the battery, you get a different number, You measure yourself, go and watch a movie (without emptying your bladder) come back try it again and guess what: you get now A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT number…
Scales that are much more accurate not only measuring your body fat but also your height automatically COST NOT MUCH that this piece of “J-equipment”, I will even say MUCH LESS!

So, please stop insulting me, I am even somehow familiar with the DEXA scans by the matter, but that’s not the point here. So please before you continue blaming customers, go and do some more exercise. Thank you.

[G00mba]

Kickboxer007

So given your expertise as a an athlete, personal trainer and nutritionist, do you believe that it is normal to have 9 months worth of data showing an individual losing weight and bodyfat, achieving a trend from 22% to 16% bodyfat (190lbs down to 172lbs), and then the next day waking up to find you are suddenly 23% bodyfat with no weight change? Do you think that this sustained reading over the next 3 months is just down to a sudden and inexplicable change in not drinking enough water, or not eating enough carbs? Do you think that an overnight permanent change of 7% bodyfat is likely?

A bit of background, I'm a 6ft triathlete (175lbs currently) who has always stayed fit, monitored diet and trying to get to race weight. Don't tell me to try athlete mode, I've done that already. It's possible that I'm 23% bodyfat, also possible that I'm 16% bodyfat. I don't really care, as long as I see a trend. What I don't accept is that I flipped from one to the other overnight.

Do you assume that nobody else on this forum understands how BF% scales work? Or given that many people have had exactly the same experience with a sudden change in BF% at around the same time, do you perhaps think it is more likely that there has been an update in the software that has caused this anomoly, and Fitbit isn't acknowledging it? 

[IAD]

Kickboxer, I dont even need to be a triathlete to measure myself multiple times in the same scale with diference in seconds and get different numbers to understand that the device is useless... Congratulations for your athelte type and diplomas, but then again, that's not in discussion here. - NOT EVEN understanding BF, when the numbers are completly random with seconds of difference!!!!!- The topic here is the scale, and how useless it is... Thanks anyway, for letting us know anyway how amazing person you are!

I don't want to make asumptions, regarding fitbit updates, etc. I just know the device is way too pricy for something way too innacurate. Regarding trying to measure yourself always in the same situation it is important (for example in the morning as soon as you wake up), etc. But again thats not the point.. The point is not even customer litteracy (which probably fitbit should do also a much better job as well). Yes building rutines/trends is what the goal is here! And this device should aim to do so, and instead is bringing the "hopus pokus" to the equation... Anyhow, my 2 cents. As I said I already quit on fitbit sometime ago...

[wxman123]

So here us my issue.  I've been using the Aria scale since it came out.  My weight and BF had been relatively stable, with my BF between 18 and 20%, reading taken at the same time every day.  THEN around September 28 my BF dropped to 17 and then continued to fall almost daily until a low of 7.9 on Oct. 7.  As of today it's 13.8.  Critically, my weight has remained relatively stable and nothing in my routine has changed (eg no more fluids than usual).  What can explain this behavior.  Could it be a defective sensor?  Any thoughts would be appreciated. 

[Kereru]

Thanks for the replies. Today my scales retuned to the readings I originally had at around 30%. I was about to do a factory reset and enter all my details again however that's not needed anymore. I tend to use all the details from Fitbit as just a guide.

[mrosback]

I tried contacting customer service last year and got no where. My scale consistently had me around 25% body fat and the out if the blue it put me at 40%. Not sure how my body converted 30 pounds into fat almost overnight.

[Atlas1209]

I just started using my scale, body weight is right but BF is WAY off! I have a 6 pack, have used calipers that say I'm ~6%, this thing says I'm 23% BF and I know that's impossible. None of the "fixes" on here work. Any help?