Tanita scales - anyone used them?

[jimmy]

Anyone used Tanita body fat scales, and if so did you find them accurate for body fat? I realize they won't be as accurate as a dexa scan, but wondering if they are at least consistent?

 

[Neddysmith]

have used then and didn't find the accurate or really consistent, were ok for weight but not for BF measure....

 

[Headley]

Hey man,

I used them last week, it was a quick session with a PT at the local gym.

The printout is very comprehensive and IMO a good investment (it cost 25 bucks). Told me a lot of info about how fat i was, my muscle mass, water weight, skeletal weight etc.

Sure it may not be 100% accurate but it was a bloody good indicator.

 

[Jungnaut]

Surely better than the $20 BF scales you get from Target, you'd hope.

 

[jzpowahz]

Bio impedance device: Basically means that hydration will affect the readings. If you are consistent with the time of day you weigh in and just track the trends then that should be ok. I wouldn't really worry about the actual % it gives though.

 

[El Testicle]

yup, as above.

Try to replicate all variables when taking a reading and use the figure more as a trend as opposed to gospel.

 

[jimmy]

Bio impedance device: Basically means that hydration will affect the readings. If you are consistent with the time of day you weigh in and just track the trends then that should be ok. I wouldn't really worry about the actual % it gives though.

Cheers mate, - that's what I'm hoping for - not to worried if the actual % is spot on or not but hoping if I take the reading at the same time of the week (say Saturday morning) under the same conditions then I will get a pretty good indication of how I'm progressing.

 

[jimmy]

have used then and didn't find the accurate or really consistent, were ok for weight but not for BF measure....

thanks for the feedback needy - with the not consistent bit were you trying to check bf at the same time each day, or was that varying, also did you use them many times and were they inconsistent all the time?

 

[Bazza20]

I wouldn't waste the money. My body fat reading went up as I got lower BF the time I used it.

 

[Neddysmith]

thanks for the feedback needy - with the not consistent bit were you trying to check bf at the same time each day, or was that varying, also did you use them many times and were they inconsistent all the time?

they just were all over the place, when i started using them i was 104kg with a reading of 18.4%, then i cut down down to 91and the reading was 19.8. i measured myself the same time every day, first thing in the morning before consuming anything and after having a piss before a shower, during the time the body fat varied between 14.6 and 21.9, but this is allfrom memory and was a while ago, so unless they have improved i wouldnt bother, either spend the money and get a few dexa scans like at the start 3 mths later and then 6mths later, while just measuring body weight along the way, or get someone to use calipter, just make sure they know what they are doing as they can be just as inaccurate in the wrong hands...

 

[Bradders]

The super expensive ones with the handles etc do a lot better I believe, the inbody ones are pretty accurate

 

[Big Mick]

I wouldn't waste the money. My body fat reading went up as I got lower BF the time I used it.

Of course it did, why wouldn't the sky be green when Bazza sees it, may be the reading went up when you were on that special cut were you eat pizza, ice cream and Maccas

I have them, and find them to be consistent (different to accurate).

I can't remember how much they were, but they were not really expensive ones.

Have not weight myself in ages as I do not diet or am not aiming for any particular goals at the moment, I just eat the food I enjoy and do the training I enjoy, but when I did use them I used to weigh myself first thing in the morning and the scales definitely showed a lower body fat percentage as I was getting leaner, however I am not sure the actual percentage it showed was correct.

I think it's good to use as a guide to progress, using it in a consistent manner probably also helps.

 

[Bazza20]

Of course it did, why wouldn't the sky be green when Bazza sees it, may be the reading went up when you were on that special cut were you eat pizza, ice cream and Maccas

I have them, and find them to be consistent (different to accurate).

I can't remember how much they were, but they were not really expensive ones.

Have not weight myself in ages as I do not diet or am not aiming for any particular goals at the moment, I just eat the food I enjoy and do the training I enjoy, but when I did use them I used to weigh myself first thing in the morning and the scales definitely showed a lower body fat percentage as I was getting leaner, however I am not sure the actual percentage it showed was correct.

I think it's good to use as a guide to progress, using it in a consistent manner probably also helps.

I think I read they work much better when you are above 25% BF.


They were useless for me. Despite losing 10kg being lean enough to have veins running through my abs the BF% kept going up and showing some stupid number.

When did I do a cut on only pizza Maccas and ice cream?

 

[jimmy]

Of course it did, why wouldn't the sky be green when Bazza sees it, may be the reading went up when you were on that special cut were you eat pizza, ice cream and Maccas

I have them, and find them to be consistent (different to accurate).

I can't remember how much they were, but they were not really expensive ones.

Have not weight myself in ages as I do not diet or am not aiming for any particular goals at the moment, I just eat the food I enjoy and do the training I enjoy, but when I did use them I used to weigh myself first thing in the morning and the scales definitely showed a lower body fat percentage as I was getting leaner, however I am not sure the actual percentage it showed was correct.

I think it's good to use as a guide to progress, using it in a consistent manner probably also helps.

-did you happen to read neddysmiths reply as well mick? Seemed like he gave them a pretty decent go and his review wasn't glowing? (Just wondering why you singled one persons post out?)

 

[jimmy]

I think I read they work much better when you are above 25% BF.


They were useless for me. Despite losing 10kg being lean enough to have veins running through my abs the BF% kept going up and showing some stupid number.

When did I do a cut on only pizza Maccas and ice cream?

-I reckon I'm about 18% at the moment. Based on what you and neddy have said, I'll give them a miss. I'll just get it done with calipers every month or so.

 

[White_Lie]

What about the Withings ones, are they any better/worse than Tanita?
http://www.withings.com/eu/smart-body-analyzer.html

 

[Headley]

I used one like this the other day at the gym and found it pretty good

 

[Big Mick]

-did you happen to read neddysmiths reply as well mick? Seemed like he gave them a pretty decent go and his review wasn't glowing? (Just wondering why you singled one persons post out?)

Mainly because Neddy qualified his answer, and generally adds things to meaningful discussion, while you will find with Bazza, that he generally adds nothing to discussion, does not qualify his answer, and will argue what ever the opposite is. Plus from Neddies inconstant all over the place reading I am guessing he had very cheap unreliable scales that just did not read constantly, while Bazza's one gave a higher reading as he was getting leaner, the opposite to what they will do, and another the sky is green scenario in Bazza world.

Plus he has an unhealthy obsession with my apparent 30-50% body fat that he seems to know everything about without having ever met me seen me, or knowing anything about me

The quality of these scales is easy to test, will they give repeatable results?? I can step off mine, reset them and retest and they will give the same reading within 0.1% every time, so they are consistent, however I am unsure that the reading is the correct body fat percentage, but if they are constant, and repeatable, they are a good tool to see if your body composition is changing.

Hydration may also affect the reading, however my scales will give you a separate hydration reading as well as muscle mass %, so you can compare readings if you track them, I used to track them in a notebook with daily readings.

 

[Big Mick]

Despite losing 10kg being lean enough to have veins running through my abs

LMAO….too funny, I guess your camera was broken when you were that lean

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]When did I do a cut on only pizza Maccas and ice cream?

[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]Seriously I could not care less, just gets a bit boring, yes as I was getting lean the scales showed a higher percentage….and all the other stuff that only happens in Bazza world.[/FONT]

 

[Bazza20]

LMAO….too funny, I guess your camera was broken when you were that lean



[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]Seriously I could not care less, just gets a bit boring, yes as I was getting lean the scales showed a higher percentage….and all the other stuff that only happens in Bazza world.[/FONT]

Can only report on what happened when I used them mick. They are notoriously unreliable so it's not like I'm going out on a limb, that's why no one uses them for serious BF measurements.

What about my camera broken? Don't follow.

Good luck with your lifting and diet. Maybe you can get under 20% BF one day.