A tiny current, 8 electrodes at your hands and feet, and your arms, trunk and legs read one by one. Here’s what happens in the seconds you stand on it, and what it can’t do.
01 · The principle
Muscle holds a lot of water, so a tiny current passes through it easily. Fat holds little, so it resists. Dial measures that resistance, called impedance, and works out how much of each you carry.
02 · Frequencies
Low frequencies flow around your cells. High ones pass through them too. Reading the same body at more than one frequency gives a fuller read.
Dial H30 and H40 use three frequencies: 5, 50 and 200 kHz. Dial H20 uses two: 20 and 100 kHz.
03 · Five segments
Your arms are thin and your trunk is thick, so the current behaves differently in each. Dial reads them one by one: right arm, left arm, trunk, right leg, left leg. InBody calls this DSM-BIA, direct segmental multi-frequency bioelectrical impedance analysis.
Every frequency, in every segment: 15 measurements per test on Dial H30 and H40, 10 on Dial H20. So your upper body is measured, not guessed from your legs.
Dial combines the five segments into whole-body results and, on H30 and H40, balance ratings. It doesn’t show kilos for each arm or leg.
04 · Eight electrodes
Two electrodes under each foot and two in each hand, one of them under your thumb. Firm, repeatable contact makes this week’s test comparable with last week’s.
Each thumb gets its own plate. InBody says this makes repeat tests more consistent, so the change you see is you, not noise.
05 · No age or sex correction
Some scales lean on the age and sex you type in. Dial H40 makes no statistical correction for age, sex or body type. It works from your impedance, height and weight, so a new age doesn’t change your result.
Meals, drinks, workouts and showers shift the water in your body, and the reading moves with it. Keep the routine fixed, so the change you see is you.
Independent researchers have tested InBody’s professional analysers in more than 50 published international papers1. Those studies are of professional analysers, not Dial. InBody says it builds Dial to the same standard, with the same direct segmental method.
No home scale is a DEXA. A DEXA scan is a snapshot; Dial is built for the weeks between. Results are estimates, so test the same way each time and follow your own trend.
An 8-electrode body composition scale measures through both hands and both feet. On InBody Dial you stand on the footplate and hold the handle, so a tiny current reads your arms, trunk and legs one by one instead of estimating your upper body from your legs. All three InBody Dials, H20, H30 and H40, are 8-electrode scales.
No. No home scale is a DEXA scan. DEXA is a snapshot; Dial is built for the weeks between. It reads your arms, trunk and legs one by one at 2 or 3 frequencies, and the thumb electrodes help repeat tests line up. Test the same way each time and follow your own trend.
The current travels through the water in your body, and that water moves with meals, drinks, exercise and showers. So test at the same time, in the same conditions. Judge change over weeks, not one test.
Low frequencies flow around your cells; high ones pass through them too. Dial H20 reads at 20 and 100 kHz. Dial H30 and H40 read at 5, 50 and 200 kHz, which InBody says improves accuracy. That’s 10 measurements per test on Dial H20 and 15 on Dial H30 and H40.
No. The current travels through your body’s water, which is how Dial works out muscle and fat. But it doesn’t show body water as a result, so it isn’t a hydration test.
No. Dial measures your arms, trunk and legs separately, then combines them into whole-body results. It rates your balance; it doesn’t show kilos for each limb. Dial H30 rates upper–lower balance. Dial H40 rates upper-body, lower-body and upper–lower balance, and adds a leg muscle level.
Don’t use Dial if you have a pacemaker or any other implanted medical device, or wear a patient-monitoring device. Metal implants such as pins or joint replacements can affect readings. If you’re pregnant, speak to your doctor first. Children need an adult to help them hold the right posture.
Three Dials. One method. Pick your level of detail.
Dial H40For people who train. Leg muscle level and three balance ratings.
Dial H30For the whole house. Knows who stepped on.
Dial H20For just you. Four readings on the screen.
Six reasons people step on a Dial, and the real numbers behind them. See what people measured
What happens next
