Geepas Digital Body Fat Scale - GBS46505UK

The Geepas GBS46505UK measures body composition using bioelectrical impedance — the same principle used in clinical body composition analysis. A small, imperceptible current passes through the body, and because muscle, fat, bone and water conduct differently, the scale can estimate the proportion of each.

That gives you five figures rather than one: weight, visceral body fat percentage, muscle mass percentage, water percentage and bone percentage. Visceral fat is the one worth paying attention to — it is the fat around the organs, and it is far more closely tied to health outcomes than total weight. Few scales in this price range report it separately.

Up to eight people can store their own profile, so a household shares one scale without anyone's history being overwritten. It reads in stone, kilograms or pounds, up to 180 kg / 400 lb / 28 stone, on a heavy-duty tempered glass platform. The glass looks fragile and is not — it is rated to take the full 180 kg safely.

Two things determine whether you get sensible readings. Stand on the designated electrode areas near the edge of the platform rather than in the middle, because the current needs contact through both feet to complete the circuit. And do not stand on the display itself, which is not a weight-bearing surface.

At 31 × 31 × 2 cm and 1.65 kg it stores flat under a table or in a locker, so it does not have to occupy bathroom floor space between weigh-ins.