Omron HBF-510W Full Body Composition Monitor with Scale
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Personal Care and Health Product Information: Manufacturer: Omron Brand: Omron Release Date: 2008-11-15 Model: HBF-510W Color: WHITE Product features:
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Price List for Omron HBF-510W Full Body Composition Monitor with Scale
| New | New Usually ships in 24 hours | $54.99 | ||
| Used | Used Usually ships in 24 hours | $51.14 |
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Product Reviews of the Omron HBF-510W Full Body Composition Monitor with Scale
Product Review: questionable accuracy, missing hydration level measurement
Summary: 3 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
Like some of the other reviewers of this item, I'll preface my review by giving you some information about myself. This is my fourth scale that attempts to measure body fat. I have also had my body fat measured by two different trainers at two different gyms over the past four years.
Four years ago, I was definitely well into the obese category and weighed over 250 pounds, with very little muscle and a lot of fat. After lots of regular exercise (resistance training, cardio, and core exercises), I have lost a lot of weight and bodyfat and put on a fair amount of muscle. My most recent bodyfat measurement done by a trainer (using two methods, both a hand-held electronic device as well as calipers) revealed that I was solidly in the normal range for bodyfat for someone my age, height, and gender. That was one year ago. I have lost more bodyfat and added more muscle since then.
I still own two of my previous scales. One, by Tanita, is a hassle to use since it doesn't have any memory and thus requires the entry of height and gender for every use. It only measures weight and body fat. The other, by Soehlne, measures weight, hydration level, bodyfat, and muscle. The Soehlne and Tanita scales give results that are consistent with each other and also with the measurements taken by the trainer. The Omron scale, unfortunately, only gives a weight reading that is consistent with other devices. Imagine my surprise when the Omron scale put my bodyfat nearly back into the obese category and my muscle composition in the low category while the Soehlne scale shows my bodyfat as still in the normal range and muscle composition in the high end of normal.
I suppose I could assume that the Omron scale is more accurate than my other scales because it requires the use of both the hands and feet in terms of attempting to measure things beyond basic weight, but that doesn't explain why its measuresments vary so widely from those obtained by my trainer a year ago. Even if my other scales are less accurate, the various percentages haven't changed dramatically over the previous year -- in other words, the devices are consistent. Therefore I find it difficult to believe that the Omron's measurements are accurate, with a 4-6 percentage point difference between it and other measuring devices.
I'm not sure what to make of this. Others seem to believe this scale provides accurate measurements, while some others do not. Perhaps there is a lack of quality control at the manufacturer, and some units perform better than others. It's also possible that other factors are affecting measuring accuracy. Even though I did follow Omron's instructions as to proper times to take measurements, the reality is that I seldom am hydrated properly (something repeatedly revealed to me by my Soehlne scale). If my electrolyte balance is off, perhaps the Omron scale is simply unable to achieve as much accuracy as it would if I were properly hydrated. This is just speculation on my part, but I do know that electrolyte balance is affected by hydration levels and that these electronic measuring devices rely on conducting current through your body to work. Unfortunately Omron didn't include a measurement for hydration level (which would have been much more useful than the basic BMI measurement provided), a serious omission in my opinion.