Why does shifting one’s weight on a scale change the readout?

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This is regarding a digital bathroom scale; idk if it happens on analog ones, too. I’ve noticed that shifting my weight to one foot, to the balls of my feet vs my heels, etc. changes the weight readout–sometimes up to two pounds’ difference! So I’m curious to know why changing the weight distribution even a tiny bit affects the readout so drastically, when the same amount of weight is still on the scale.

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8 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

Upward momentum. You can’t really “shift” your weight without using your muscles to lift part of yourself away from the scale. Since you’re not made of cinderblock, the stuff that makes you you continues moving after you’ve finished shifting, and it needs to start pressing down again for its weight to register.

Just imagine a very large sumo wrestler doing a side to side leg-thumping motion over a very large scale. His weight is on the scale the entire time, yet his shifting is causing the reading to change, similar as if you were to jump.

That and bathroom scales not being the most accurate devices in the world either.

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