O/T Is there a group covering general health issues please?

[Mick IOW]

Hi all, can anyone tell me if there is an active group covering general health issues please ?

(I am a male in my 70s living in the UK) I have tried:

alt.health misc.health soc.senior.health+fitness

But there seems no activity in them, one question I wanted to ask was: About different weight readings from different sets of scales (wearing the same cloths) on each set with a difference of 2 and a half pounds.

I was wondering because I have just purchased some: Salter 148 BKSVDR Mechanical Bathroom Scales and weighed myself before attending a slimming class to be weighed and found on my new scales (that were on a hard surface and correctly set to zero) I was at my target weight of

13 stone.

At the class a few minutes later on their computerized scales I was

13 stone 2 and a half pounds hence the 2 1/2 lb difference. Mick.

[harry]

Had you been for a crap or eaten anything between times? All scales are inaccurate to some degree. You have to use the same one all the time to get any idea of comparison.

[Mick IOW]

Hi, no the 2nd weighing was just a few minuets after using my scales, not even a wee in between.

It seems to me that my new ones are more likely to be out than the slimming clubs would they not be tested?

Is the 2 1/2 lb difference enough to query with the makers? Mick.

[Andrew Gabriel]

I have found that the floor surface can make a difference with mechanical scales. If the feet sink into a carpet and some of the weight is taken by other parts of the base, that gives a wrong reading. I have also assumed that if the floor is not flat, that might change the reading so I make sure on tiled floors that the scales are on one tile.

[Tim+]

I doubt it. It probably just isn't economically worthwhile for manufacturers to chase accuracy. As long as they're reasonably consistent they're still "fit for purpose" in that you can still use them to monitor your weight loss/gain.

I dare say if you spend lots of money you can probably get more accurate ones but how do you know it isn't the weight watchers scales that are inaccurate? I imagine that their scales are moved around a lot, chucked in the back of a car etc and generally lead a hard life. Unless they level them on a hard surface and calibrate them after set up every time, you can't really be sure that they're right.

Tim

[Chris B]

Unless you go for the balance beam type that used to be found in doctors surgeries, what you have found is not far off typical. You have now however calibrated your own vs the slimming club and you know that you have to add 2.5lb to get the slimming club result.

If I had to guess which were more "accurate" I would say yours are as

1) They are less worn 2) They don't get thrown in the back of a car several times a day as the slimming club moves from venue to venue

I would bet that the slimming club ones have never been calibrated in their life.

Any way 2.5 lb in 13 stone odd is only just over 1% error which is more than good enough for DIY weight measurement. (Simply because body weight varies by that sort of amount during the day anyway)

[alan_m]

The difference is 1.4%

As Slater don't bother to state the accuracy of the scales in their manual I wouldn't be surprised that they are possibly inaccurate by more than this.

Furthermore I doubt if anyone can read the scale better than +/- 1lb.

The difference you are seeing will be well within acceptable limits.

What is important is that you weigh yourself on the same scales at approximately the same time of day.

[Chris Hogg]

Several comments:

1) Confucius says 'a man with one set of bathroom scales always knows his exact weight. A man with two sets of bathroom scales never knows his exact weight'.

2) Always weigh yourself at the same time of day. You lose two or three pounds overnight exhaling water vapour and probably going for a pee; morning weights are lower than evening weights.

3) Mechanical scales are IMO less easy to read precisely than digital scales. That doesn't mean they're less accurate, just less easy to read to e.g. the nearest half pound.

4) Don't get obsessed about the odd pound or two variation from weighing to weighing, as long as they don't all go in the same direction. The body can retain or lose that amount of fluid daily, almost at random, depending on what you've eaten or what exercise you've taken on that day.

5) Are you particularly tall? If I was 13 stone I'd be seriously worried. You may have been advised to set that as a target, but I suggest that they were being kind; 10½ stone would be much better (I'm 10st. 3lbs., 5ft. 10in.). Move more, eat less! This recent BBC programme is worth watching.

[Tim+]

5' 10" and 10.5 st is sub-normal. A great weight for a runner or other endurance athlete but definitely "skinny".

It's unrealistic and unfair to expect others to match your ectomorphic frame. Without knowing the OPs height and general body type, we shouldn't make judgements about what is appropriate or realistic for him.

Tim

[tabbypurr]

Domestic scales are hopelesly inaccurate. If you want a realistic reading you need medical grade scales. They cost.

NT

[Mick IOW]

Hi, the OP again, I am 5ft 7 ins tall.

When found to have diabetes I weighed 16st 10 lb and so was obese, I was referred to a slimming club.

I am now 13 St give or take the 2 1/2 lb Having shed 3St 7 lb.

I was advised by the nurse at my Dr's to try and get to about 12s 7 lb.

To get my BMI in the ideal range I would need to be about 11st but she thought that undoable in my build.

I will keep trying, the benefits are well worth the effort. Mick.

[alan_m]

Less than 3 minutes in and a lesson on how to abuse a cordless drill.

[Chris Hogg]

Er...no, it's not sub-normal. Bang in the middle of what it ought to be, actually. It gives a BMI of 20.5, where the recommended range for a healthy male adult of my age is 18.5 - 25.

LOL! I take it that you're somewhat heavier! As they say in France "Qui se sent morveux, qu'il se mouche" :-)

That is true. Lets hope he's 6 ft or over. And yes, I know BMI isn't everything, but it's a good starting point.

[Nick Odell]

...and if you decide to go for all-singing all-dancing medical scales, remember to breathe out before you take the reading. A typical lungful of air weighs nearly 2.5g at normal temperature and pressure and you've probably got two of them. Lungs, that is.

Nick

[Chris Hogg]

Hear, hear! Congratulations on what you've done so far, and keep at it. I'm T2 diabetic, and the benefits of losing weight are well established. The guy in the BBC prog was also T2. Losing weight enabled him to drop two of his three types of medication, as well as significantly reducing his chance of a coronary.

[Chris Hogg]

In fact it makes no difference to your weight, lungs full or otherwise, because you're surrounded by air. If you breathe in, you fill your lungs, but you also displace more air as your chest expands, so receive an exactly equivalent increase in buoyancy or uplift. Breathe out, less weight of air in your lungs, but equivalently less buoyancy as your chest contracts.

An open tin can fully submerged in water weighs the same whether uncompressed or squashed flat.

[F]

Well done! That can't have been easy!

[Nick Odell]

Erme - I think that was my point? Or to put it another way, beware the tyranny of the scales - especially accurate ones - since huming beans don't operate with the same degree of precision and becoming concerned about avoiding an early morning cup of tea or checking the barometric pressure between readings and other stuff like that just isn't conducive to a relaxed and easy-going lifestyle .

Nick

[Tim+]

Um, I think you missed the point that breathing out makes no difference *at all*, nor does barometric pressure.

Tim

[Chris Hogg]

OK point taken, or perhaps point missed! :-) I wasn't sure. There are some news and social media groups where it would be genuinely meant and believed.