The ability to check our body stats at home has come a long way in recent years. Smart scales now have a lot more to offer than just letting you know how many pounds you may have gained or lost. Besides informing you of your current weight, smart scales can show your BMI, body composition, hydration and even heart rate, depending on which model you choose. This can be helpful as it gives you a range of tools to help you better understand your health, as opposed to only being guided by how many pounds you weigh.
But how important is knowing your weight, anyway? Is it actually going to help you slim down? Well, according to a study by the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing and University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine, not only does weighing yourself daily help you shed unwanted pounds, it can also help you retain your weight loss over the longer term.
An additional benefit of smart scales is that many of them work with fitness trackers. Some scales can be paired with a tracker while with others you input the data manually. Both help you get a more accurate picture of where you are on your fitness journey. But do fitness trackers really work? According to a study by the University of Minnesota they do, and they can be well worth the investment for those looking to lose weight. Here’s our list of The Best Fitness Trackers, according to experts.
With that said, it’s time to dive into the best of the best smart scales currently on the market, and discover which models 10 experts agree are the cream of the crop. If you have your own thoughts on any smart scale, we would love to hear them in the comments.
The List: Best Smart Scales, According To Expert Reviews
1. Withings Body Plus
Tom’s Guide found this to be the best smart scale overall. “It sports an attractive design, gathers more information than any other scale and presents the data in an easy-to-understand app. Each and every weigh-in appears in the companion Health Mate app automatically, via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth sync. And with your measurement history available at any time, you can see what parts of your routine are bringing you your desired results.”
Forbes is equally complimentary. “The Withings Body+ strikes just the right balance between design, price and functionality, which is why it’s our pick for the best overall smart scale. Capturing a wide selection of body metrics—including muscle mass, bone mass, hydration, fat mass, BMI and more—Withings clearly goes all-in on measuring your health and fitness data.”
CNET explains that this model can sync with the vast majority of the fitness apps out there. “The Withings Body Plus scale is a good option if you want the ability to sync up to over 100 third-party apps like Apple Health, Google Fit and MyFitnessPal to your scale.”
2. Wyze Scale X
Forbes highlights the wide range of data this smart scale collects. “This easy-to-use smart scale uses an LED to display your weight, but at the same time measures and collects data pertaining to 12 essential metrics, like BMI, Body Fat Percentage, Heart Rate, Bone Mass and Muscle Mass. This data is immediately transmitted to your smartphone.”
Live Science says, “we’re big fans of the heart rate monitor feature which works with a smartphone. Put your fingertip on the rear camera lens of your phone and within a few seconds you can see your resting heart rate. This can help give an indication of cardiovascular fitness and a good place to start if you want to know how to get fit. A lower RHR can be a sign of a strong cardiovascular system.”
Tom’s Guide mentions one downside, but it still made it into their list of top choices. “The downsides with this cheap and cheerful smart scale is the app, which doesn’t really give you an awful lot of information to support the wealth of data. While it’s great for a user to know their muscle mass, there’s little information there to indicate whether that number is considered acceptable for overall health. This is nit-picking though, all-in-all, it’s a fantastic, affordable machine.”
3. Renpho Smart Body Fat Scale
If measuring body fat is important to you, Sports Illustrated chose this model as the best in that category. “The RENPHO Smart Body Fat Scale has four high-precision sensors that use bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) to measure body fat. BIA involves measuring the rate at which painless, low-level electrical currents travel through the body. Without getting too technical, this can provide data on how much body fat and fat-free mass you have.”
With cost in mind, People also voted for this smart scale. “Renpho is a solid choice for folks on a budget. The brand’s Smart Body Fat Scale was super easy to set up, thanks to Bluetooth connectivity and a user-friendly mobile app. You can add up to four user profiles and track various metrics on the app, including body fat, BMI, BMR, muscle mass, and metabolic age.”
Very Well Fit found this model to score highly, despite its low cost. “Although this scale was the third least expensive among the 20 we tested, it scored among the top six—scoring higher than many of the more expensive options. The Renpho Smart Scale is a great budget-friendly option. Our tester found it to be easy to set up, read, and use, giving it a perfect score of 5 out of 5 in those three areas.”
4. Fitbit Aria Air
As you would imagine, this one is perfect for Fitbit users and as NBC News says, “this smart scale syncs up with your existing data and helps monitor your progress. The scale comes in two colors — black and white — and the brand says it tracks weight and BMI, along with the metrics your wearable FitBit offers, like steps and hydration levels.”
CNN Underscored did highlight that, “the lower-priced Fitbit Aria Air was a bit of struggle to set up. First, we had to download a firmware patch for the Air, then the Fitbit app. Once the patch was downloaded it was easy peasy, but we weren’t fans of the extra step.”
Sports Illustrated said: “If you’re a dedicated Fitbit user, the Fitbit Aria Air is a no-brainer. This scale syncs with the Fitbit app via Bluetooth, and turns your data into easy-to-read graphs and charts that measure your progress over time. If you wear a Fitbit that’s also synced to the app, the charts will combine the data and show how your daily activity level affects your weight.”
5. Withings Body Cardio
Another smart scale from Withings made it into the top 5. Very Well Fit says: “Withings reports that users who set a weight goal on an app lose twice as much weight as those who don’t. This scale also syncs to popular apps, including MyFitness Pal, that allow you to track nutrition. Our tester loved this feature because she was able to monitor her food intake while tracking other health metrics.”
Tech Rader highlights the higher price point but says it may be worth it depending on your personal goals. “This is a premium scale, and has a price tag to match, but if you’re interested in making long-term changes and improving your fitness rather than just losing weight, it could be well worth the investment.”
As you would expect because of its name, this model is also good for those people concerned about their cardiovascular health. As Forbes explains: “If you’re concerned about your heart health and how it impacts your weight and ability to perform physical activities, this is the smart scale you need. When you step on this scale, in about 30 seconds, it performs a cardiovascular checkup, in addition to measuring your body weight. The scale also tracks body composition measurements, such as body fat, muscle mass and bone mass. One of the additional measurements it captures is your vascular age—an accurate indication of heart health.”
Sources
- Tom’s Guide
- Forbes
- CNET
- Live Science
- Sports Illustrated
- People
- Very Well Fit
- NBC News
- CNN Underscored
- Tech Radar
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