Class Action Lawsuit Claims Garmin Index S2 Smart Scale Cannot Accurately Measure Body Composition as Advertised

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Garmin International has been hit with a proposed class action lawsuit that alleges the health and wellness brand’s Index S2 Smart Scale is incapable of providing accurate body composition measurements as advertised.

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The 56-page false advertising lawsuit asserts that Garmin misrepresents that its Index S2 Smart Scale and all substantially similar models can provide accurate body composition measurements, including body fat percentage, body mass index (BMI), skeletal muscle mass, bone mass, body water percentage, and more. According to the complaint, the scale’s bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) technology has a “uniform inadequate design” and is incapable of providing these metrics accurately

Per the filing, the scale’s BIA technology sends an undetectable electrical current through the body from foot to foot to measure the body’s impedance, or resistance to the current. The case states that different kinds of tissue have differing water contents, and the scale feeds the resulting measurements into a “proprietary algorithm” to spit out body composition metrics.

However, the smart scale lawsuit says that this BIA technology is “highly problematic” and inherently incapable of providing accurate measurements, given that the current “skips” over the waist area and above. This means that the algorithm is extrapolating data from only one part of the body, the complaint relays.

Moreover, the accuracy of the scale’s measurements is easily affected by a plethora of factors, including body posture, skin temperature and water content, foot position, and more, the suit adds.

The lawsuit says that none of these limitations are disclosed to consumers at the point of sale, and that Garmin has kept consumers “ignorant of vital information.”

“According to a 2021 study published in the journal JMIR mHealth uHealth, scientists compared the measurements obtained from three different models of foot-to-foot smart scales that use BIA technology with DEXA and found that the Smart Scale devices underestimated both fat and muscle mass by as much as 8 kg and 8.03 kg (approximately 17.6 pounds), or up to 8 percentage points.”

Instead, Garmin, a “self-proclaimed” leader in the health and wellness industry, continues to highlight that its products are “a cut above the rest.” Per the suit, the scale’s packaging states that “[a]ccuracy matters when it comes to your goals” and that the scale can provide “accurate measurements.”

The lawsuit shares that consumers understand that smart scales such as Garmin’s Index S2 are a convenient, cost-effective alternative to a Dual X-ray Absorptiometry (DEXA) scan, which is widely considered the “gold standard” of body composition measurement. The suit adds that Garmin is “keenly aware” that consumers are willing to pay a significant price premium for products that promise the reliability and accuracy of a DEXA scan.

The plaintiff purchased a Garmin Index S2 Smart Scale in August 2024 for $149.99 after reviewing Garmin’s marketing materials, which promised to provide “a more holistic view” of his health, the case says. The filing relays that the plaintiff later noticed that measurements from the scale differed “significantly” from body composition measurements reported by a DEXA scan.

Given that the smart scale cannot perform as promised, it is worth less than what the plaintiffs and proposed class members paid, or worth nothing at all, the lawsuit emphasizes.

The Garmin class action lawsuit looks to cover all individuals who purchased an Index S2 Smart Scale in Illinois for personal use and not for resale during the fullest period allowed by law.

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