Connected scales can help you lose weight - Financial Times

Software may provide a more accurate picture than wearables when it comes to cutting calories

Sales of fitness trackers are booming, with buyers saying that losing weight is one of their main goals.

When these devices were tested by researchers, however, questions were raised about the validity of the record of calories burnt. With errors of up to 400 calories a day, it can be difficult to figure out a way to shed pounds.

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Luckily, there are better ways to lose weight. Several companies have introduced electronic scales that connect to the internet and integrate with software, providing you with a more accurate picture of your current situation and what to do to achieve your goals.

Recently I have been trying two products: the Polar Balance, a $99.95 smart scale from the Finnish sports fitness company, and the Under Armour HealthBox, a $400 package from the American sports clothing manufacturer, which includes a scale, heart rate monitor and fitness band.

Most electronic scales use WiFi to link to the internet, but the Polar Balance connects via Bluetooth with a Polar fitness tracker or watch.

It measures only weight but the data integrate nicely with the Polar Balance app, which is available on the web, or the Polar Flow app for your iPhone or Android device.

Using your height, weight and workout history, Polar's software produces feedback on your eating and activity levels, and suggests the best way to reach your target.

For example, it might tell you to cut 200 calories from your food intake and add a 20-minute jog or a one-hour walk.

The Under Armour package goes several steps further. The Under Armour scale links to the internet by WiFi and shows not only your weight but an estimate of your body fat, which I found to be very accurate when I compared it by using the scientific approach of skin calipers.

One benefit of having an estimate of your body fat is that you know your lean mass — the weight of your muscles and organs — and can calculate how many calories you really need.

Under Armour has recently acquired a number of fitness apps that, when combined with the HealthBox, make losing weight much easier.

My favourite is MyFitnessPal, a food and exercise diary that calculates how many calories you have eaten and estimates how many calories you have burnt.

The app uses a database of 5m foods, so it is easy to keep track of the calories you take in each day.

While the estimate of calories burnt on MyFitnessPal is probably no more accurate than those of other fitness trackers, the key is that your workout is integrated daily with measurements of your weight and body fat from the Under Armour scale.

All of this information comes together in the Under Armour Record app, which is available free for both Apple iOS and Android phones, keeping track of sleep (using the Under Armour wrist tracker), workout activity and calories eaten.

The benefit of all this data collection is that research shows that people who keep a record of food intake lose twice as much weight as those who do not.

The reason that these trackers work is that it soon becomes obvious where the unnecessary calories are coming from.

Once you cut them out, you instantly see the benefit at your morning weigh-in.

fitexecutive@ft.com

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