Home bathroom scales are becoming more and more popular as everyone becomes more conscious of their size, and are perhaps starting one of the many weight loss programs. A set of weighing scales in your bathroom or bedroom provides a convenient way to monitor your weight and your health. But which type of scales are best for you, and what is the best way to use them?

There are, broadly, two types of home bathroom scales: mechanical and digital. The final decision between these is a matter of personal choice, but here are some factors to take into account:

• Mechanical bathroom scales are the more traditional type, and display your weight either by a dial moving under a pointer, or the pointer moving over a stationary dial. This type of scale is driven by a spring; when you stand on the scales, the spring is stressed by differing amounts, and a series of connected levers move the dial or the pointer on the dial. Mechanical bathroom scales usually require no power source at all, and you have control over its accuracy by a calibration dial that allows you to reset the reading back to zero when there is nothing on the scales. Their accuracy is, however, sometimes called into question.

• Digital bathroom scales are the more modern type and becoming increasingly popular. Digital scales are invariably electronic, and are usually powered by a small battery, although some models are connected to the mains power, and some even use solar power. Your weight is shown on an LCD or LED display, and the plate you stand on has often been similar to that for mechanical scales, so that often the only outward difference between the two types of home bathroom scales is the display. Recently, however, digital scales are increasingly using a glass-like plate for you to stand on, and are looking very modern and arty. Digital bathroom scales are generally considered to be the most accurate of the two types.

Increasingly, then, home bathroom scales of the digital types are becoming more and more popular, and their styling almost makes them a work of art, as opposed to the square black thing in the corner of your bathroom.

But is that all that scales do? The answer is No. Home bathroom scales can also include body fat analyzers that give you an indication of your body's fat content (your body fat percentage) by using small, unnoticeable, currents flowing through your body from one foot to the other. If you can program such body fat scales with your height then the scales can also tell you your Body Mass Index (BMI).

Additionally, bathroom scales now can provide a rudimentary tracking mechanism, whereby it tells you whether your weight is tending to increase or decrease. If there are several members of your household using the scales then there will have to be a way of the scales distinguishing between you. In mechanical scales this is easy: simple plastic sliding indicators, one colour per person, can be used to indicate your previous measurement (rather similar to the way old-fashioned barometers worked). In digital scales there has to be some way of telling the scales which person you are, and it becomes more complex; I would suggest that a small notebook and pencil will do the job just as well!

Whichever type of scales you choose, you should use them correctly: always measure yourself at the same time of day, and under the same conditions. Ideally, in the morning before you eat breakfast, but after going to the toilet – and naked. By the way, did you know that the human body usually loses several pounds overnight just from natural fluid loss? Your body weight fluctuates during the day because of what you consume and because of your activities, so it is important to measure your weight in a controlled way so that the weight loss can be monitored correctly.

So choose your home bathroom scales carefully: decide what you want from your scales, decide the type, and then make a selection from the wide range available -- and you're on your way to losing those love handles!