Tanita BC533 Glass Innerscan Body Composition Monitor
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List Price: Our Price: $89.99 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Health Care See more product details |
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Product Reviews of Tanita BC533 Glass Innerscan Body Composition Monitor
Product Review: Excelent Product - Accurate and easy to use
Summary: 5 Stars
Excelent Product - Accurate and easy to use
Was delivered on time
Product Review: Excellent Innerscan
Summary: 5 Stars
This is one good piece for checking your weight and body fat. Its very accurate (95%). It does have some initial glitches but should be fine once you read the manual thoroughly.Product Review: Excellent and accurate scale
Summary: 4 Stars
I purchased this product several weeks ago and was a little hesitant to do so based upon the many negative reviews regarding how the scale calculates one's bodyfat (and several other tests). Let me first say that my primary goal is tracking how much I weigh on a daily basis and keeping close tabs on my bodyfat level and lean mass numbers. Back to my story though: I was very hesitant to buy the scale because there were quite a few reviews that said that the bodyfat readings were off (some claimed way off) and that the scale was only useful to get an accurate bodyweight reading. After quite a few tests and comparisons, I have to disagree with many of the reviewers. I was pleasantly surprised at how accurate the bodyfat readings are.
I routinely get my bodyfat tested via a technique called BodPod. Hydrostatic weighing is the gold-standard when it comes to figuring out one's bodyfat and lean mass but finding a facility to do hydrosatic weighing has proven very difficult for me and from what I understand it is quite a production and I'm sure not inexpensive. To make a long story short, I had a BodPod test done just this past weekend and I weighed myself on the Tanita BC-533 and the Tanita scale was off by by less than half a percentage point. The BodPod test showed that my lean mass was about 5 pounds more than what the Tanita was showing but the fact that it showed virtualy the same bodyweight and same bodyfat as an expensive BodPod unit really impressed me.
So what about the discrepancy in lean mass? Well, the way that I look at it is if my lean mass goes up on the Tanita then I've gained muscle. Period. To me it's not a big deal if my lean mass is not dead accurate - I'm mainly concerned with knowing if I've gained or lost lean mass. The precise number is not so important as knowing if you're regressing or progressing. That's the big thing that I think a lot of the negative reviewers are missing.
Second of all, in many of the negative reviews, not many people have a reference to what their accurate bodyfat or lean body mass is to begin with. Frankly, I think people who step on the scale think they're in far better shape than what they are and get offended when they see a hight bodyfat percentage number. The only rational scientific way to compare is to have hydrostatic weight, BodPod, or ACCURATE skin-fold caliper numbers and then compare those to the Tanita products. Sorry to tell ya people, but skin-fold calipers numbers can vary widly due to the accuracy of the practitioner and quality of the calipers themselves. It's probably safe to to say that there is at least a +/- accuracy of 5 percent when it comes to skin-fold calipers...and probably even more if your practitioner is trying to make you feel better by fudging the numbers. Not to say that skin-fold calipers are a waste; if that's the only option available to you then use it but don't be surprised if your 10% skin-fold caliper reading is really 15% when done by more accurate, alternate testing.
Anyways, for people who are very concerned about keeping track of their bodyweight and bodyfat, I highly recommend this product. Yes, it's expensive but if you're someone who values the features that this scale offers, then it's not a bad deal. If you're someone who just wants to keep track of your weight, I'm sure there are other less expensive alternatives available so you may want to look at something else (by the way, my Homedics scale that I had previously been using is consistenly 2 pounds heavier than the Tanita and it also fluctuates more widly than the Tanita).
Setup was pretty easy and straightforward. The only issue that I had was deleting the programming that I had entered into the #1 button on the scale. It took me several minutes to figure out how to reset the programming for a particular button. I did manage to figure it out though. The other thing that I feel I should point out, because it is important, is the "average vs. athlete" setting on the Tanita. I found that only after setting my particular setting to the athlete mode did I have accurate bodyfat readings. I'm not privy to the equation that makes the "average vs. athlete" settings different, but when I plugged in all of my numbers into the Tanita, I got a bodyfat percentage that was higher than what it should be. I want to say that it was 3 to 4 percentage points higher than what my BodPod numbers reflected. After I saw that, I went through and reset my settings to have the "athletic" setting. Keep in mind that Tanita says you should excercise for 10+ hours a week and have a resting heart rate of 60 or less to qualify for the "athletic" seetting. I'm somewhat close to both of those criteria so I went ahead and reset my settings to reflect the "athletic male" setting and I've been very happy thus far.
I've found that the scale is most accurate after I've been up for 4 to 6 hours and have had a meal and am properly hydrated. I always weigh myself in the morning, upon awaking, and the bodyfat numbers that I get are about 2 percentage points off. Big deal, right? Nope. Because I weigh myself first thing every morning I know that if the bodyfat number goes up (even if it is not dead-on accurate) then my bodyfat has increased. If it goes down, then I know that I've lost bodyfat. The morning is the only time that I can consistently weight myself under the exact same conditions and that's why I don't rely on the Tanita solely in the evening. Things like caffeine consumption, hydration levels, last time you ate, etc., can affect the numbers that you get on your Tanita so even though my numbers aren't completely "true" in the morning they are the baseline that I write down to see where I stand.
Product Review: Excellent product and price
Summary: 5 Stars
Works great! Very accurate, easy to read. Some of the features need studying to know what they mean, but they are all good to know. You may not care about many of the features, and a less expensive model would work great for you.Product Review: Excellent with some reservations
Summary: 4 Stars
The scale is attractive and appears to be accurate. My only reservation is that I'm a little suspicious about its ability to measure all the different variables. If you experiment several times per day you'll discover that you get results that sometimes don't make sense, compared to previous readings. You must understand that body fat is measured as a PERCENTAGE of your weight. This means that if you maintain the same amount of fat, but are 2 pounds lighter due to dehydration (say, after a work out), your body fat PERCENTAGE will actually go up. Of course you don't really have more actual fat. It's important to use the scale at the same time each day to determine your progress.
I'm very happy with the scale. I just wish I understood better how it works.