Affordability and features of home scales for self-weighing

Self-weighing is an evidence-based weight management strategy, which requires patients to have a home scale. For clinicians to effectively counsel patients on self-weighing, they should be aware of the costs and features available in typical home scales. Our objective was to describe the cost and features of the top bathroom scales available online. We performed content analysis of top 100 scales listed on a popular online retailer. Two coders independently extracted price and scale features (i.e., digital connectivity, body mass index [BMI] calculation, maximum weight accommodated). We used t-tests and ANOVA, as appropriate, to examine the relationships between price and features. Among the 97 scales included, mean scale price was $28.99 (SD $21.06; range $7.20-$139.95). Of the advanced features, 20.6% of scales had digital connectivity and 28.9% calculated BMI. Scales with advanced features cost significantly more than scales without (digital connectivity: $49.18 vs. $23.74, P < 0.001; BMI calculation: $42.92 vs. $23.33, P < 0.001). Most scales (76.2%) had a maximum weight of 351-400 lbs, and only 17.5% could accommodate >400 lbs. Price was higher for scales with a higher maximum weight (P = 0.002). No scale with maximum weight > 500 lbs had advanced features. Scales that have digital connectivity for telemedicine or can accommodate higher weights are less commonly available online and their costs may be prohibitive for some patients who need these features. Future research might consider testing whether insurance coverage for scales improves scale access and patient weight management outcomes.