I've been using the TomTom Touch for just over a week now, but have serious reservations about the accuracy of the body composition analysis.
I am a fit athlete with very, very little spare flesh on me at all, yet my Touch has been recording a consistent body fat percentage of 19% for the last week.
Very approximately, using my height, weight and waist size, I'd expect this to be much nearer to 9% - 12%.
I ensure that my arms are in the correct position as all the instructions show, so is there anything that could be making it so very far out?
Best answer by tfarabaugh
Hi there.
I've been using the TomTom Touch for just over a week now, but have serious reservations about the accuracy of the body composition analysis.
I am a fit athlete with very, very little spare flesh on me at all, yet my Touch has been recording a consistent body fat percentage of 19% for the last week.
Very approximately, using my height, weight and waist size, I'd expect this to be much nearer to 9% - 12%.
I ensure that my arms are in the correct position as all the instructions show, so is there anything that could be making it so very far out?
Every body fat composition device takes a measure differently, some measure the whole body (if you stand on sensor pads and hold them in your hand as well), others (like the Touch) are predominantly looking at the upper body as they are using the hands (arms) only. Since the torso has a much higher fat content than the rest of the body (this is where most people keep fat stores, plus the organs are all protected by visceral fat), a torso dominated measurement will generally be a higher number. The important thing to look at is not the actual number itself, but at the trend. Is the number going up and down over time (looking at weeks and months, not days)? That is the key, to look at the trend, not at a specific number. The measurement is also heavily influenced by the time of day you take it, your hydration level, where you are on your menses cycle (for women) and other factors that it will vary day by day. By looking at it over the long term and seeing how it is trending you will get value out of it.
I am a competitive athlete with body fat in the single digits (8%-9% generally) and the Touch shows me around 15%. But it is consistently off by that percent, so knowing that it is always going to be offset, I do not worry about the specific number but more if the number is improving or getting worse.
I hope this helped answer your question. If so, please mark it as a solution so others can look for it if they have the same question. View original comment