Related
This discussion has been locked.
You can no longer post new replies to this discussion. If you have a question you can start a new discussion

Body Fat % Index vs Index S2

jpnestor
over 1 year ago

I recently bought an Index S2 Smart Scale after having an Index Smart Scale for several years.  I have been weighing myself on both scales at the same time to compare the metrics.  All of the user settings (including Activity Class=7) are identical for both scales.  Here are the ratings I get:

Index Smart Scale

Weight = 81.6 kg

BMI = 23.6

Body Fat = 17.4%

Skeletal Muscle Mass = 32.3 kg

Bone Mass = 4.8 kg

Body Water = 60.3%

Index S2 Smart Scale

Weight = 81.6 kg

BMI = 23.6

Body Fat = 25.3% (!!)

Skeletal Muscle Mass = 32.2 kg

Bone Mass = 4.1 kg

Body Water 54.5%

Note the huge discrepancy with Body Fat % and the smaller differences with Bone Mass and Body Water.  I suspect my true BF% is probably in the middle.  Why such a huge discrepancy between these two scales?

  • 0 over 1 year ago

    I weight around 65kg, 5'9", 49 yr old male. I have both the S1 and the S2 and I typically find a difference of between 2-4% on body far with the S1 reading lower.

    e.g. S1 = 7.0%; S2 = 8.8%

    To be honest I no longer really focus on the Body Fat, but also it is dependent upon the 'Activity Class' setting you have in your Garmin Connect profile User Settings. e.g. I have mine set to Activity Class 9 at present, but probably could/should be Activity Class 8.

  • 0 over 1 year ago

    Just purchased an S2. After using another scale for years in which my body fat has been measured between 10-12% as recent as yesterday. I’ve also had it measured in a lab and the scale is within a percentage of the lab result. 

    I just took the S2 out of the box and it is reading at 25.2%. I’ve noticed the discussions that the scale has had this problem for years. Can it be fixed? 

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to DDiggs

    The recent 3.0 update adds an option to set a baseline body fat %.  It then appears to measure relative to that baseline. So you could enter the value from your old scale. 

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to jpnestor

    Thanks! That did the trick!

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to DDiggs

    The S2 scale does not measure body fat. It is estimated using a formula with a major factor being your age. You can confirm this by changing your age in the scale and your body fat % changes.

    As an experiment I set up a profile for my 17 year old grandson. He is 1cm shorter than me and 100g lighter. His body fat is shown as 12.5%. I'm 72, 63kg and 175cm tall. The scale tells me my body fat is 24.6%. If I set the profile to my grandsons and stand on the scale my body fat magically halves. If my grandson stands on the scale using my profile his body fat almost doubles.

    The only conclusion is that the scale is not measuring anything other than weight. Everything else is just a guess.

  • 0 over 1 year ago

    I had the same issue switching from my garmin index 1 to 2 scale.

  • 0 over 1 year ago

    Hi, is there a fix for this, or do we create a baseline as proposed below? Or was it that Index was wrong and index2 is correct? Mine body fat%  too went up 10% when changing scales, can't be right can it?!