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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Customer Reviews of Tanita BC533 Glass Innerscan Body Composition Monitor
Customer Review: Not that great once you understand how it works.
Summary: 2 Stars
I've used this scale and i've found some serious flaws. First, besides the weight measurement, none of the other readings are TRUE readings. All the readings such as Fat%, Body Muscle%, Water% is ESTIMATED. When you first get the scale you have to enter in your height, age, sex, and level of activity. The level of activity is the most important factor, basically you tell the scale if you live a normal life of activity, moderate life of activity were you do some excercise or your an athelete with intense physical activity a few times a week.
The scale uses the bioimpedance and then calculates all of the results using the information that you provided which I believe is not that accurate. For example, I'm 5'11", 27, male however not all 5'11", 27 yr old males are the same, do you see the problem? So basically alot of their readings are CALCULATED based upon information that you give it, not true measurements of yourself. These are ASSUMPTIONS!!
To test how unaccurate this weight scale is, I stepped on the scale, saying that I live a moderate life style of activity. The scale said my body fat% is 14.3%. I IMMEDIATELY set up the scale again, this time saying i live an atheletic life style and my body fat% is 9.7%????huh?
Which one is it???? And why are they different, shouldn't my fat%, just like my weight be the same??? I mean nothing in my body has changed, just the setting on the scale. Also, all the results of the other features are skewered downward when I choose athlete mode, and vice versa when I choose normal mode. I personally think I'm in pretty decent shape, I don't work out like an athelete, but I do hit the gym, it's probably not "intense" but I do some excercising a few times a week. Quite frankly, I'm not sure if I should be using "athelete" or "moderate" mode, so I really just have no exact measurement of my body fat% or any other measurement(besides weight). I just know I'm somewhere between 9% and 14% which I coulda told you by looking in the dam mirror.
This goes to show you that the scale is using the bioimpedance, but it estimates everything based upon factors. If you read the guide it states that some of the measurements are based upon studies. Like the BMR is based upon some famous study or something....
The scale has always measured my weight consistently. I'll get on the scale weigh myself and then get off and immediately weigh myself again and the weight is the same. HOWEVER, i've weighed myself a few times within a minute and I notice that the body fat%, muscle%, etc. are ALL DIFFERENT. The weight was always the same, but the body fat% was 1/2% off???? the time between weighings was about 10 seconds!!!! I kept doing this over and over and noticed that my body fat% could swing by as much as 1% +/-. More proof this thing is inaccurate.
As this thing goes for over $100 I wouldn't recommend anyone getting it. Unless you really really want to monitor your progress. For example, if your on a diet, you could monitor your progress with this scale, just know that its not the most accurate thing and that the readings are really just BALLPARK. If I could do it all over again, I would buy a Tanita scale, but not this top of the line one, I would get the mid grade were you would still get the fat%, less some of the other features, like metabolic age....I mean who needs that??? And what would you do with it? And of course you would save some money.
PROS: Accurate in reading body weight. Lots of features.
CONS: fat%, muscle%, etc. are all based upon bioimpedance and assumptions according to the info you enter into the scale. So it's not truly accurate. Most of the features are really useless.
BOTTOM LINE: Not worth the $100+ in my opinion. If fat% is important, your better off just getting a Tanita scale, but a mid-grade model that reads weight, fat% and muscle%. It's really all you need.
Customer Review: Tanita BC533 measures weight, body fat and so much more!
Summary: 5 Stars
For many years I used a digital scale that gave me a different readout each time I used it. I like to weigh daily but found that stepping up and down on the scale several times to get an average weight was frustrating. I thought that was the norm with scales until I started reading scale reviews and discovered that many people found the Tanita line to be accurate. If they weighed several times in a row they got a consistent readout. They did not have to take an average as I did with my Health-O-Meter. As a treat to myself, for losing 10 pounds, I decided to purchase a Tanita and after doing some research opted for the Tanita BC533.
The Tanita BC533 is a state of the art scale that measures your weight (to two-tenths of a pound), body fat, visceral fat, bone mass, metabolic age and muscle mass. It is very simple to operate. You input your height, weight, average physical activity level and age. The Tanita will remember this information for up to four people so you only have to do it once, unless your information changes. (There is also a guest mode if a visitor wants to try it.) Once you have programmed the scale you toe tap your number, step on the platform and you will see your weight and body fat measurement. (Note - If you wear socks the body fat measurement will not work.) Then you can toe tap other buttons of your choice. A little figure gives you a visual cue as to what the buttons are. For example for muscle mass the figure is holding weights. For bone mass there is a tiny skeleton inside the figure. You decide which body composition features you wish to check. You may for example want to check your bone mass once a month, or then again you may want to check it weekly. It's up to you. It's as simple as pressing the corresponding button, and takes only seconds.
Tanita has also introduced the Ironman Innerscan line. I was not sure of the difference so I called customer service. Amber went out of her way to explain the benefits of the Innerscan line, and the basic difference between the regular Innerscan and the Ironman. The Ironman gives you your BMI or basal metabolic caloric rate. This is the basic number of calories your body needs. The regular Innerscan (like the BC533) gives you your DCI instead. The DCI is a calculation where the BMI is multiplied by your activity level to tell you the number of calories you are taking in to maintain the weight you are. When you see this information you can then adjust up or down to help you gain or lose weight or stay the same. Nifty!
Tanita includes a guide with the scale that explains exactly how the scale works. The scale is a bioimpedence device. A low level current (which you don't feel) passes through your body and the impedance or resistance level is used to calculate body composition. The booklet explains healthy ranges of body fat and also explains what body water percentage, visceral fat, etc. mean.
The scale is also very attractive. Sleek styling and easy to use. Those with poor vision may find the buttons a little hard to see. But the visual clues will help. Despite the glass surface the scale stays very clean.
The BC533 is an outstanding tool to help you accomplish your health goals!
Customer Review: Well, at least the weight is accurate...
Summary: 2 Stars
I was pretty excited to hear about this device after being fed up with all of the BMI nonsense that the insurance companies, the government, and certain ignorant doctors used to classify people. Upon using this scale, I found out the results of the body fat analysis aren't really much different. I could have looked online and done the silly BMI calculation that was developed 150 years ago if I would have realized how this scale worked. If you have an average frame and muscle structure, this thing might be accurate for you, but if you have participated in much weightlifting, bodybuilding, or hard manual labor, this thing will likely add around 5-6% to your bodyfat content if you compare it to the results of a skin fold caliper measurement. I have a friend that is 22 years old, 5'3 and bench presses 400 lbs. His bodyfat showed up as 17%, when using one of these scales, but was measured at 11% at his gym by someone very experienced with skinfold caliper usage. Mine was also off by about this amount. Feel free to read some of the other reviews by others who have also had discrepencies of 5-6%. I also have a suspicion that small framed people that are clinically obese would also show up as being healthy, just as with the BMI formula. How can I be sure of accurate trends in fat loss if the initial measurement isn't accurate? You can verify the accuracy of a scale with weight of known mass, but how are you calibrate the body fat measurement ?And the other features of this scale are just a joke; what the heck does metabolic age even mean? And how exactly is bone mass calculated if this scale works off of the principle that muscle transmits electrical current and fat does not? The answer to both questions is a lot of programmed assumptions. The scary part of this is one of the reviewers is using this to keep track of bone mass and osteoporosis; this could be dangerous if someone is relying on this instead of a medical exam.I will admit that the weight measurement portion of this scale is nice. Amazon had a great price on it when I bought it; cheap enough that by the time I returned it, I will only have enough money to buy a high quality, old fashioned weight only measuring scale. So, from that standpoint, it's worth keeping. I gave this scale two stars because it can not be relied upon to accurately to what it is supposed to, but because of the possibility of body fat loss trend tracking and an accurate scale, I felt it deserved more than one star. There is a reason why the price of this scale has come down so much in the last year or so; I would not be happy at all if I paid $120 for it.Customer Review: Don't get rid of excess weight WITHOUT Tanita!!
Summary: 5 Stars
Many food commercials train us to stress eat. Your typical weight scales CAUSE stress. Tanita, turns previously stressful days into some of the happiest days of my life. First an analogy. My father used to say some car dashboards had gauges and others had idiot lights. He said an idiot light only tells you when you've got a problem, if then, but a gauge lets you see exactly where you're at on all levels, your water, oil, battery charge.... all of those things are better addressed as soon as they start tilting, not after there's already a problem.
I've been sticking to my workout and excess fat elimination plan like super glue. Went from 180.4 to 182.6 in 24 hours. In the past that would have depressed and stressed me. I'd have eaten four cups of sonic ice and my tongue and lips would still be numb. But my fat had decreased, my water had increased (much needed, I've been running too low for the lion's share of my program, and it takes plenty of water to excrete fat) and best of all my muscle mass had increased dramatically. I hadn't done anything wrong and thanks to my Tanita scales, the weight which is like an idiot light was only telling a small part of the story.
In fact, a Dr.'s tanita scales showed me I was messing up big time. I weighed there once a week for three weeks and each week I lost fat and MUSCLE. Considering I do serious strength training an hour every other day... that was very upsetting. Found out I was eating too few calories and working out too fast. I upped my calories and slowed down and wah lah!! Finally, my muscle is coming back!! I've lost 120 pounds, how much of it was muscle? I'll never know. Because I didn't see that doctor until September and I didn't get my own Tanita scales 10/11.
If I had it all to do over again, which I never will because seriously, i am too lazy for the hard ass work of being fat - I'd never have done it without an omron heart monitor, a monthly measurement with a myo tape and a good set of Tanita scales. I wish you'd market yourself at the daily plate and get them to give us a place to chart our Tanita measurements daily. I'm using a notebook and pen, feels outdated, but who cares. I'd fight someone over these scales. Please, do yourself a favor, if you're under 330 pounds, and working out and eating right to get rid of excess fat - get a good Tanita. I LOVE MINE. I'm too lazy to lose weight inefficiently. If you are too, you gotta have this.
Customer Review: Very useful precision health monitor with stylish design.
Summary: 5 Stars
Being an avid swimmer, cyclist, runner, and outdoors fanatic, I decided to buy the Tanita BC533 to monitor my fitness beyond just body weight. I researched around the web and found mostly positive reviews on Tanita scales. I've also considered the Tanita Iron Man BC554 with similar user modes and more recall capabilites but the BC533 just looks more stylish: shaped like a chromosome. Amazon offered a good price with free shipping and a $30 gift certificate for Tanita Body Composition Monitors. Subtract another $30 from that if one applies for the Amazon visa: an Win-Win transaction!
To get accurate measurements, one would need to obtain readings under consistent conditions, i.e., approx. same time of the day, no meals within 3 hrs., similar hydration conditions, etc. I found most of the functions to be helpful: Weight, %Body fat, %Total body water (makes sure one is not dehydrated), Visceral fat % (getting rid of fat around the waist), Muscle mass & Physique rating (making sure one is not losing muscle mass while reducing fat), Bone mass (making sure one is not calcium/mineral deficient and losing bone mass), DCI (Daily Caloric Intake=amount of calories one need to intake the next 24hrs. to maintain current weight)& Metabolic age (calculates one's Basal Metabolic Rate and age associated with that age). The BC533 comes with batteries, an easy to understand manual, and a body composition measurements guide. Holy moley, my metabolic age is 16!
Updated 12-31-06: My Tanita BC533 is still working well. Periodic cleaning of the sensor surfaces has kept the weight measurements fairly consistent. The % body fat and other measurements tend to vary since users can't duplicate exact measuring conditions EVERY time. For <$50, don't expect "sports clinic" accuracy levels of physiological measurements. I exercise regularly and eat healthy foods (as much as I want) so preventing weight (fat) gain and maintaing muscle mass is not a problem; and this scale has been helpful.