A weighing scale is used to determine the weight of an object. In medicine they will be used to weigh a person. A person's weight can have a significant effect on many aspects of their health and is therefore very important for doctors. While most homes will have some type of scale in the bathroom for people to monitor their weight. A doctor's scale will be far more accurate then a general home scale but apart from that it will work on the same principle.

Weight is a very important means of measuring over all fitness for many people and for this reason, regular weighing is employed. It is not the best way to measure fitness however, as it will not tell if you the weight is composed of fat or muscle and how the proportion of the two relate to each other.

Scales are also used be people who suffer from anorexia, bulimia and other eating disorders.