Tanita BC533 Glass Innerscan Body Composition Monitor
July 8, 2010 by admin
Filed under Fatt Loss Monitor, Tanita
Tanita BC533 Glass Innerscan Body Composition Monitor
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 List Price: $119.99 Sale Price: $77.90 Availability: unspecified 
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Product Description
Full featured family model body composition monitor - measures body fat, body water, muscle mass, visceral fat, Physique Rating and more. With Adult, Athlete and Child modes -- measures body fat in 0.1% increments. 330 lb capacity / 0.2 lb readability
Details
- Easy-to-read
- Highly accurate body composition monitor
- 4 person memory
- Weight, body fat recall, body water and muscle mass recall
- Glass and silver
Rating
The Innerscan was very easy to set up right out of the box. Within minutes, I was stepping on the scale and seeing weight, which I was already painfully aware of. But seeing the body fat percentage really woke me up. I’d already begun changing my diet and exercising more, but knowing that I can now watch the fat percentage go down (please!) and muscle mass increase, I am more inclined to use the scale. I know that watching just weight can be frustrating, as fluctuations due to water weight can be annoying. But I am now even more motivated to continue improving my lifestyle.
I do believe that some convenience of use was traded off for style and appearance… you basically have to step on the scale, wait for weight and body fat % to be read, then get off the scale and either get down on the floor or pick the scale up to check the other readings. The buttons that you press to view bone mass, muscle mass, water %, etc. are fairly small and use icons that aren’t easy to see six feet away. But frankly, the two readings that are important to me are weight and body fat %, and those are displayed automatically, so this is a minor inconvenience. And bottom line, it just looks cool.
The documentation provided with the device is excellent, including not just usage instructions, but some real information on what the numbers mean, an overview of healthy goals, keys for getting the most accurate readings, etc.
After using this just once, I’m convinced that everyone should check their body fat percentage on occasion… it may very well come as a surprise.
One extra cool thing is that it measures the fat around the abdominal area, which research is showing is a significant contributor to heart disease. The one area I’m normal on!!
Rating
My wife and I bought the Tanita scale as part of our weight loss plan, thinking that the scale’s initial cost and user information would provide added incentives to keep at it. It has helped.
More important, once programmed with basic personal data, the scale works quite well and is easy to read and understand. Programming and data interpretation do require paying brief attention to the instructions, so if you want something that requires no instruction, look elsewhere.
We have not tested its accuracy against another source, but that is less important to us than its being consistent with itself over time. We do notice that it will sometimes read slightly differently, by perhaps one or two tenths of a pound, when we do repeat weighings at the same time. Most of the time, though it gives the same reading.
It’s very modern and attractive, well-built and requires a hard surface (as do most scales) and batteries. If the electronics hold up, it should give many years of service.
Rating
I always wonder how accurate the BMI method of calculating body fat is but as a relative indication (probably not to far off the actual percentage) it is an excellent tool to measure progress on fittness, weight loss or gain, and body fat. The scale sends an electrical pulse (undetectable to you) through one foot and measures the return signal in the other foot. The measured decrease in the signal is used to calculate body fat based on statistics of the general population. This scale also calculates muscle mass, visceral fat (fat around the belly organs)and a few other useful measures but the thing to keep in mind is the readings are all calculations using your weight and the electrical signal passing through your body. Again the calculations are based on statistics and studies of the general population that have been conducted. But my reasearch indicates that a great deal of effort has been put into these studies and I personally am comfortable with what the results indicate. Another improvement over my first scale is the literature and owners manual that comes with this scale. It explains the BMI method and other features of this scale in excellent detail and it also spells out the impact of the water content of your body which affects the signal passing through your body. This product is great and should be used by anyone who is an athlete, working on gaining muscle mass or trying to lose body fat weight. This is the second Tanita scale I own and this one comes with lots of bells and whistles. I am very pleased and recommend this product without hesitation.
Rating
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.
Rating
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!
Rating
After reading the review for the Tanita BC533 Glass Innerscan Body Compositon Monitor in the U.S. News & World Report, May 16, 2005, we decided to buy one. The scale is well worth the price, $119.99, for it provides so much more information than just weight. It calculates body fat and water percentages, visceral fat (the amount of fat around the organs), bone mass, metabolic age (the average age associated with your metabolism), a physique rating, and an estimate of daily calories to maintain your current state.
This scale is a real motivator to get into shape. Everyone who has tried the scale wants to eat healthier and can’t wait to get back onto the scale to see the results. It is a real eye opener!