Any recommendations for a scale / body fat monitor combo? It looks like tanita has a pretty good grip on this market, has anyone used their products? I’m not looking for anything super fancy, it’s just for me so i don’t need a multi person display. I’ve heard some of the BFM are not accurate for really fit adults… anyway shoot me your opinions!
BFM (tanita) scales are ridiculously inaccurate. They are based on incorrect assumptions, don’t work well at all with fit folks, and are easily thrown way off by things like hydration, etc.
Get a tanita digital scale (no BFM) and you’ll be better off.
I have (and use) the Tanita BF 572 for a past few years. Pretty cool unit. The weight is very accurate (checked with my UPS scale at work).
As for the BF measurement…you need to read up on the ups and downs of the way that’s it works. It’s certainly not completely accurate, but neither is using calipers. Do we all wanna sit in a dunk tank every week to measure? ;o) In a nutshell, it’s measuring density…and that is effected by hydration. i.e. - you will me “more fat” in the morning as you’re dehydrated from your night’s sleep. But, you’re heavier at night, but have a lower BF %.
Either way, is a nice unit to use over time, but not so much for real time measurement.
Hope that helps.
My buddy has one and I have to laugh at him every he talks to me about it. He is a very muscular asian guy so five seven on tip toes is his ht. He sets the thing at five ten so his body fat is 15%. He says at 5’7" he is 40% fat so he adjusts it. It also changes 5% or so before and after workouts.
I have done several thousand skinfold, electrical impedence, and underwater weighing bodyfats and used to be able to get within a few % by eyeballing. I am guessing he is closer to 25% than 15, but what do I know?
I think those scales if done properly can give good results, you never know though when it is lying or not. Whereas a 7 or 10 site skinfold is usually consistantly right or wrong. You should try and do the underwater thing on athletes that can’t swim. Yea, now go underwater and let out all your air and hold real still. Uh huh, that will work just fine.
If you already have one, do the test, then slowly go to the Fitness Center (or take your scale with you) Have them do you, than you do your scale. If you can get all three, their impedence, a caliper and your scale to hit within about 2-3%. You may be on to an accurate trend. Hope that helps G
I’ve been using a tanita for about a year. It isn’t very accurate as far as exact body fat, but I have gotten into a routine where I check the BF at the same time under similar circumstances, each day, and the trends provided are fairly helpful. My wife, non athletic, also finds following trends very motivational. Going from 22 to 21 for her feels great even if it doesn’t mean 22% to 21%.
ps. Consumer Reports did a review of BFM’s about a year ago. Check it out. If you don’t have them check your local library.
I have been using the Tanita BF680 for some time now. It has an “athletic” mode for “athletic” body types. I can’t figure out how the body fat is calculated differently on this model, but it definitely is. If I get on with my height entered in athletic mode, it gives me a completely different (lower) body fat reading than if I get on in “regular” mode. So I don’ know what is actually correct, but I have had some skin fold measurements done and the athletic readings are about the same as that. So I assume that the scale reading is pretty accurate. Also, the fat reading seems quite consistent, so even if it is the wrong number, you can tell if you are gaining or losing, which is all that really matters. I like the scale.
-Colin
I’d stay away from bioimpedance scales (G sums it up pretty nicely). Go get underwater weighed (make sure they measure, not estimate, your residual volume), or get it done in a Bod Pod or a Dexa scanner (the latter is the most expensive). Repeat when you think things have changed. Until then, go by body weight and belt size.
I used to underwater weigh people for a living, and that’s what I’d tell them.
Even underwater weighing is inaccurate. The only way to really know your % BF is to be burned to a crisp in an oven. It only works once, though.
The tanita scale IS appropriate for showing trends. Trend is important. Yes, it shows the trend of your hydration status best of all. With just a little bit of understanding of the characteristics and limitations of this type of device, weighing at the same time of the day, charting your weight and %BF readouts, then you can get a good idea of your % BF trend as well as hydration status.
You can even use it to determine when you have inflammation from a damaging-hard leg workout…say you’ve run a very long way, maybe done a marathon. You have more inflammation in your legs, and this is accompanied by increased fluid in your legs. Your %BF will read much lower than usual, although your weight may be higher, lower, or the same as usual, depending upon your overall hydration status. As the days go by, assuming you are eating normally, your weight will stabilize at it’s normal level, and your %BF reading will gradually rise to it’s “normal level”. You’ll find that until your numbers line up normally (your normal, not someone else’s normal), you can demonstrate the accumulation of fluid (from the inflammatory response) in your legs if you search. I’ll also bet that it’s not a good idea to try and do any hard running until your inflammatory condition has been resolved.
The lower body impedence devices are useful, you just have to know it’s limitations, and the things that affect the reading.
I agree with Titan about the Tanita body fat scales and have been using mine that way for several years. Tracking trends like hydration status is important, especially in the summer. I check weight and body fat every morning and then again every evening and log the info into my Polar tracking software so I can view the data in an easy to read chart.
Yeah, if you want to lean down a bunch, just switch it to “normal” mode and you’ll get a whole different reading.
I spent two weeks trying to get the Tanita people to explain the difference between modes and got emails from a variety of CS and “science” people there, all of which were the same crap - " methodology is diffrent between modes" like duh!?, that is what I am asking about! Why it is different, no one could tell me…
It seems an amusement and perhaps can show trends, but it varies so much I can’t believe it works right, and since they can’t explain what the difference between the two modes is, then I assume it isn’t very accurate.
I have found that if a person can’t explain a concept to you properly, then they probably don’t understand it themselves.
I’ve been thinking about getting a BF scale to measure trends as well (not really concerned about the number, just want to see it go down!), but I’m having problems finding Tanita here in Canada. Has anyone used any other brands? I’m going to check out the Consumer Reports article too.
D.
I got mine online/mail through either Performance or Nashbar
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Thanks RD. I’ve seen them online, but then I need to send it to a US address since sending it across the border through customs is a PITA! (I once ordered a skirt online that cost $75 and the customs and duty fees were $50!!) I guess I can always send it to my parents house, so maybe I’ll do that.
D.