Tanita Scale Review

This past Christmas I received a Tanita um-028 BodyFat scale in a gift exchange and knowing many people are curious about these scales I wanted to review it before you go out and spend usually a lot of money for one. Tanita seems to be a leader in thses type of scales ranging from $50 up to gym level scales in the thousands of dollars. My older brother bought one a few years ago when they first came out and I was intrigued but not willing to pay $70 for it. When I tell people about this scale the first question is how does it work?

It is called Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis or BIA. It is considered one of the most reliable and accessible methods of screening body fat. In conventional BIA, a person is weighed, then height, age, gender and weight or other physical characteristics such as body type, physical activity level, ethnicity, etc. are entered in a computer. While the person is lying down, electrodes are attached to various parts of the body and a small electric signal is circulated. Simply explained, BIA measures the impedance or resistance to the signal as it travels through the water that is found in muscle and fat. The more muscle a person has, the more water their body can hold. The greater the amount of water in a person's body, the easier it is for the current to pass through it. The more fat, the more resistance to the current. BIA is safe and it does not hurt. In fact, the signal used in body fat monitors can not be felt at all either by an adult or child.

Tanita's Patented BIA Method-Tanita has patented a revolutionary new way of measuring BIA that is faster, easier, less intrusive and includes a precision scale making this a simple one-step process. In fact, Tanita was the first company to introduce the world to the body fat monitor/scale. Tanita's monitor looks just like a bathroom scale. A person inputs age, gender and height, then steps onto the platform. Electrodes in the foot sensor pads send a low, safe signal through the body. Weight is calculated automatically along with body fat content in less than a minute. All Body Fat Monitor/Scales and UltimateScales feature Tanita's patented BIA method.

Pros-The scale looks relatively nice and does seem to be very accurate as a scale for weight. Another nice feature of mine (um-028) is you can program two adults (bodyfat doesn't work with kids, gives E for error) in with age, gender, and height, and track a few details about that person on a daily basis. It is easy to use with a one touch large button on the front of the scale you can touch with your toe to turn on, and has automatically off.

Cons-The bodyfat indicator is completey inaccurate, but useful. Since the day I bought it my bodyfat has never been under 18% and has gone up to 22%. This has been at a constant weight of 213-218 (currently 214.8, and my estimate is about 9% bodyfat). As I stated it isn't accurate, but it still can be helpful. In December and January when I was pushing 218, everyday was around 21-22%, now since I have been down around 213-215 I have noticed that bodyfat scores are getting lower. This can be a useful benchmark for dieting and calorie intake. I write everything down including keeping a daily log of weight and bodyfat%. This can be useful for long-term tracking.

Overall-I really like the scale and find it interesting to step on it every morning especially after the holiday weekends. I have to admit it is kind of fun to use and track my weight. I'm looking forward to using it as I get closer to a show and see how it measures me for bodyfat. I will add on to this article later as this does happen for those are also interested. These scales can be found at many retail places as well as on the internet. If your interested just do some searching and test them out in the store if you can. They have a 10,000 use or three-year warranty.