http://forum.slowtwitch.com/gforum.cgi?post=1012512

I say the scale part is fine, the fat measuring is totally worthless.

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"...it should be swim, bike, run, cage fight." - el fuser
"I noticed that I am in your sig line! Wow! That's s first for me. Thanks." - Fleck

For this strong a statement, I would prefer a more detailed argument.

That doens't seem to be the pitch of the link (which seems to be that they are flawed but potentially useful).

Ok, I have owned two, both with the same problem. The predicted fat % varies by 2-5%, whether over the course of a day, or at the same time of day everyday. The % shown is also higher than predicted by calipers or bodpod type measures.
More, there tend to be two modes - normal and athlete. Just by flipping the switch the % will show 20% points less in athlete mode. If the device were accurate, I beleive, it would predict the same % of fat for both categories, but the number of calories needed to maintain would simply be higher for athletes.

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"...it should be swim, bike, run, cage fight." - el fuser
"I noticed that I am in your sig line! Wow! That's s first for me. Thanks." - Fleck

I have a Tanita and while I don't consider it to be perfect, I think it does its job well enough if you follow the directions. Don't measure yourself in the morning or after eating and try measure yourself at the same time. I usually hop on just before dinner.

I have a Tanita and you can search for my thoughts in more detail.

The short version is that it's a decent scale and somewhat decent fat measurement tool over time providing you understand it's strengths and weaknesses.

It mind-boggles me that people would believe it's accurate. NO fat test is accurate....so you might as well understand the pros/cons of each method.

Otherwise, the mirror works pretty well too! ;o)

Ditto to what everyone else said, but I'll add something else. Yes, the body fat % number may not be your actual body fat %, but as long as it's consistently off, you can at least gauge whether or not your body composition is changing. You do need to understand how they work, for one, it helps to measure yourself at the same time each day, but more importantly, to also look at your hydration level too. If you're slightly dehydrated, the results will vary pretty widely. I would suggest tracking this data in excel over time, weight, body fat %, % of body water, muscle mass, and perhaps bone mass. I have a chart in my training log where I look at a 10 period moving average to follow the trends, and not rely on any one data point specifically.

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There are three kinds of people, those who can count, and those who can't.

I have one I bought for about $50 canadian so I thought it would be pretty good, but varying through the day I would have anywhere from 13-75% body fat.

Save some money buy some calipres and have the significant other learn how to do it.

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http://slow-triathlete.blogspot.com/