Tanita BC554 Ironman Glass InnerScan Body Composition Monitor Elite Series
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Product Reviews of Tanita BC554 Ironman Glass InnerScan Body Composition Monitor Elite Series
Product Review: Great for weight, good for tracking trends.
Summary: 4 Stars
This scale measures weight very accurately. As far as that goes, it's the most accurate (consistent) scale I've ever owned. You can get on and off over and over, and it will give you the exact same weight every time. Be sure to put on a hard, flat surface. If you put it on a bathroom rug, the scale will be way off for some reason.
All the other measurements are fun to look at, but I have no way to verify if they are accurate or not. The readings can vary wildly depending on time of day and what you have been doing. I've found if you go out the night before and drink a little bit too much alcohol, the scale thinks you are in fantastic shape. On the other hand, if I have a long run (15 to 20 miles), the next day the scale thinks I'm fat and lazy. Obviously, the more you mess with your body, the more it messes with the scales readings (This is informative in its own way, and as I mentioned earlier, pretty entertaining).
In order to overcome the daily fluctuations, I weigh myself first thing in the morning before eating or drinking anything. I also created a spread sheet in Excel to track my readings. That way I can average the numbers over a month and then track my changes from month to month. This is much better than trying to compare these numbers day to day anyway. Realistically, your muscle mass or your bone density is not going to change at all on a day to day basis.
Hope this helps.
Product Review: Very good within the constraints of bioelectric impedance analysis
Summary: 5 Stars
Sometimes you don't know what your missing until you see a better product. The batteries in my previous scale died, and they were odd-sized coin batteries loosely positioned on top of delicate circuitry. I damaged the electronics in my old scale while replacing the batteries, and although I probably should have been more careful during that process, the result was that I needed a new scale. It may sound trivial, but one of the things I like about this Tanita scale is it uses common AA batteries, located in a normal battery housing.
Next up on my priotity list for a replacement scale was accurate body fat measurements. As I understand it, bioelectric impedance measurements (i.e. the method used by scales) are not very accurate for measuring body fat, and the inaccuracy can be pretty high for people with excessive body fat, or with very little body fat. But, Tanita has improved the body fat measurement accuracy of this scale by adding an "athletic" mode to increase accuracy for people with low body fat. And, Tanita also provides a somewhat quantitative standard based on resting heart rate and weekly exercise level to help you determine if you should be using this mode. My experience so far indicates this mode is probably a few percentage points more accurate for athletic people. But, I have not yet compared it to a measurement made with hydrostatic weighing, so I can't confirm that with numerical data.
This scale also measures weight to the nearest 0.2 pounds, which is an improvement over my previous scale, which rounded to the nearest 0.5 pounds.
When you first get this scale, you program it with your gender, age, and height. To measure yourself with the scale, you press a button with your toe and wait about 2 or 3 seconds for a short beep, telling you the scale is ready. Then you step on the scale, and wait 3 or 4 seconds for the scale to take it's measurements. The scale then sequentially displays nine measurements, staring with weight, then body fat %, etc. Some of the measurements have the same untis, so at first I wasn't completely sure how to interpret some of the numbers displayed by the scale. Tanita thought of this, and provided small back-lit icons on the scale to help you identify each measurement as it's displayed. But, the icons are too small to see when you're standing, so you really need to memorize the order in which the measurements are displayed.
Overall, this is a great product, and if you fall into the athletic category, the athletic mode makes it better than any other scale I saw for measuring body fat.
Product Review: Well Done!
Summary: 5 Stars
This scale is just what I was looking for. I have had it for a couple months and am very satisfied. Programming was easy, and the info adds that much more detail to help you focus on your health. Other reviews noted frustration over the fact that you cannot pick-up a stick of butter and see the weight change because of the device's calibrators that will reset to the most recent close weight. But you can check subtle variations by using your pre-programmed button on the first try, and then using the "guest" weight button on your second attempt.Product Review: Best Scale
Summary: 5 Stars
I like this scale. I use it in KG mode to match my medical needs and my wife uses it in LBS for her monitoring. Product Review: Real Motivation
Summary: 5 Stars
The challenge when using the TANITA BC554 is figuring our WHEN to get readings. As all readings come about through an electrical charge running up one leg and back down the other, anything and everything that might influence that signal will have an effect.
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Once you log the VELONEWS data and start taking readings "properly," you're set to go.
Now I have to tell you, the BC554 has motivated me (and my wife) like nothing ever has. Even if you "fight" with the readings, you will find yourself thinking carefully about fat% and visceral fat, about bone density and the % of muscle your have, etc.
Frankly, I've yet to experience anything as motivating as this unit for (a) general health and (b) prepping for a triathlon.
Yes, we have given our unit a name... "Sadie"... short for "Sadie Stalin the Sadistic Scale"... but we love her.
And are far healthier as a result.
Dr. Kirtland C Peterson