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

[pamela]

I don't want to scoff but a 20 quid set of mechanical bathroom scales is never ever going to be particularly accurate. You're demanding too much by expecting reliable readings to within a kilogram. Just look at the Amazon reviews for your Salter 148 BKSVDR.

According to the following info, when measuring a typical person mechanical bathroom scales varied, in general, by 0.7kg (1.5 pounds) between models. On average they gave a reading about 1.8kg (4 pounds) away from the true value.

Also, I wouldn't expect stunning accuracy from the sort of "computerised" scales you might find at a class.

[harry]

Test it out. A liter of water = I Kg Just measure out with jug and fill a bucket or plastic bags.

[Nightjar]

Lennox Lewis in full fighting trim had a BMI of 30.

[Chris Hogg]

As I said in the bit you snipped, I know BMI isn't everything, but it's a good starting point.

[PeterC]

When John Regis won Olympic 200m he was classified as obese - I don't know his BMI, but I'd guess his body fat was

[PeterC]

My old (>40 years) Krupps are at least constant, even though I've let them have their own zero as I can't make them keep to zero. The ideal for me, if I had the space, would be the purely mechanical beam balance. Anything that goes into electronics in any way is adding layers of complexity and unreliability, yet most people will trust ridiculous precision from a digital readout (DMM=240V, must be true; AVO 8 shows 225V, can't be right) rather than a simple machine.

[Tim Streater]

That's because they confuse accuracy with precision.

[pamela]

They certainly do!

Although it doesn't account for PeterC's very different voltage readings.

[F]

litre

[Huge]

Lennox Lewis is not "normal".

[tabbypurr]

sci.med is just full of axe grinding

NT

[PeterC]

Simple: the DMM has v. high resistance/V; the AVO needs some current to operate itself, so the voltage will drop a bit if there's high resistance in the circuit. I had a relay not operating a contactor (I know...), 240V to it on the Fluke, ~230V 0n the correct range on the AVO. Reduced the range on the AVO and the voltage dropped more. Carried on and the voltage wasn't enough to pull in the contactor. Contact on relay v. slightly bent - quick tweak and OK.