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Components add up to more than weight

Former Member over 5 years ago

Converting the water and fat percentages to weight and adding them to the muscle and bone weight always equals more than 10 pounds more than my total weight. Why?

0 Krectr over 5 years ago

The total is more than 100% because both muscle and fat contain water.

0 Former Member over 5 years ago in reply to Krectr

If that is the case, bone has moisture content too; and the scale might as well show only water weight and non-water weight.

0 C.sco over 5 years ago in reply to Former Member

It doesn't tell you what the "dry weight" of your muscle or fat or bones are, because that's not important to know. What's important is the actual (wet) weight of those things. And then it also gives you a total water weight, which includes the water contained in all those things plus any other additional water you've got in your body. All of those things are important, I don't understand why you want them to be measured differently.

0 BeneGi over 5 years ago in reply to C.sco

Regarding to bone weight, it is the dry weight.

0 Former Member over 5 years ago in reply to BeneGi

Yes. The scale works via electrical impedance and assigns weight and percentage based on how electrical current passes through water, fat, muscle and bone mass. Thus, it should not assign anything, e.g., water, to anything else. Fat is not water and water is not fat (or bone or muscle). If the scale indicates, say, 18% fat but the user has to guess whether that is 9% fat and 9% water or 3% fat and 15% water, the scale is worthless.