Body fat contains relatively little water. Therefore persons with a high body fat percentage have body water per-
centages below the recommended values. With endurance athletes, however, the recommended values could be
exceeded due to low fat percentages and high muscle percentage.
Body water measurement with this scale is not suitable for drawing medical conclusions, for example concerning
age-related water retention. If necessary ask your physician.
Basically, a high body water percentage should be the aim.
Muscle percentage
The muscle percentage is normally within the following ranges:
Man
Age
low
10 -14
<44
15 -19
<43
20 - 29
<42
30 - 39
<41
40 - 49
<40
50 - 59
<39
60 - 69
<38
70 -100
<37
Bone mass
Like the rest of our body, our bones are subject to the natural development, degeneration and ageing processes.
Bone mass increases rapidly in childhood and reaches its maximum between 30 and 40 years of age. Bone mass
reduces slightly with increasing age. You can reduce this degeneration somewhat with healthy nutrition (particu-
larly calcium and vitamin D) and regular exercise. With appropriate muscle building, you can also strengthen your
bone structure.
Note that this scale will not show you the calcium content of your bones, but will measure the weight of all bone
constituents (organic substances, inorganic substances and water).
Attention: Please do not confuse bone mass with bone density. Bone density can be determined only by means
of a medical examination (e.g. computer tomography, ultrasound). It is therefore not possible to draw conclusions
concerning changes to the bones and bone hardness (e.g. osteoporosis) using this scale.
Little influence can be exerted on bone mass, but it will vary slightly within the influencing factors (weight, height,
age, gender).
AMR
The active metabolic rate (AMR) is the amount of energy required daily by the body in its active state. The energy
consumption of a human being rises with increasing physical activity and is measured on the diagnostic scale in
relation to the degree of activity entered (1– 5).
To maintain your existing weight, the amount of energy used must be reintroduced into the body in the form of food
and drink. If less energy is introduced than is used over a longer period of time, your body will obtain the difference
largely from the amount of fat stored and your weight will reduce. If, on the other hand, over a longer period of time
more energy is introduced than the total active metabolic rate (AMR) calculated, your body will be unable to burn
off the excess energy, and the excess will be stored in the body as fat and your weight will increase.
Results in relation to time
Note that it is only the long-term trend which counts. Short period fluctuations in weight over a few days are mo-
stly the result of a loss of fluid.
The interpretation of the results will depend on changes in your: overall weight and body fat, body water and mus-
cle percentages, as well as on the period during which these changes take place. Rapid changes within days must
be distinguished from medium term changes (over weeks) and long term changes (months).
A basic rule is that short term changes in weight almost exclusively represent changes in water content, whereas
medium and long term changes may also involve the fat and muscle percentages.
• If your weight reduces over the short term, but your body fat percentage increases or remains the same, you
have merely lost water – e.g. after a training session, sauna session or a diet restricted only to rapid weight
loss.
normal
high
44 - 57 %
>57 %
43 - 56 %
>56 %
42 - 54 %
>54 %
41- 52 %
>52 %
40 - 50 %
>50 %
39 - 48 %
>48 %
38 - 47 %
>47 %
37- 46 %
>46 %
Woman
Age
low
10-14
<36
15-19
<35
20-29
<34
30-39
<33
40-49
<31
50-59
<29
60-69
<28
70-100
<27
13
normal
high
36 - 43 %
>43 %
35 - 41 %
>41 %
34 - 39 %
>39 %
33 - 38 %
>38 %
31- 36 %
>36 %
29 - 34 %
>34 %
28 - 33 %
>33 %
27- 32 %
>32 %