RE: Re: Using Tanita Bodyfat scale

[Guest guest]

with a grain of salt... :-)

No, try to use under identical conditions (same time of day, same hydration level, same food in gut, etc). Then mentally or on paper average out readings over several days. I would advise caution about relying upon it's result for anything other than comparative (change or rate of change) measurements.

The Tanita offers far more precision than accuracy at least wrt to BF. The weight portion of the scale appears to be quite good.

JR

-----Original Message-----From: bernadettepawlik@... [mailto:bernadettepawlik@...]Sent: Monday, October 18, 2004 11:02 AM Subject: [ ] Re: Using Tanita Bodyfat scaleI've invested in a Tanita Bodyfat scale, but my readings are inconsistent.When and how is the best way to us this device?

[Guest guest]

My readings on my Tanita have been fairly consistent. I attempt to use

it a the same time of day (early morning, before breakfast, post

shower).

Whether or not it's accurate or not is debatable, to be sure, but not

really a great concern to me.

On Mon, 18 Oct 2004 11:17:34 -0500, <crjohnr@...> wrote:

>

> with a grain of salt... :-)

>

> No, try to use under identical conditions (same time of day, same hydration

> level, same food in gut, etc). Then mentally or on paper average out

> readings over several days. I would advise caution about relying upon it's

> result for anything other than comparative (change or rate of change)

> measurements.

>

> The Tanita offers far more precision than accuracy at least wrt to BF. The

> weight portion of the scale appears to be quite good.

>

> JR

>

>

>

> -----Original Message-----

> From: bernadettepawlik@... [mailto:bernadettepawlik@...]

> Sent: Monday, October 18, 2004 11:02 AM

>

> Subject: [ ] Re: Using Tanita Bodyfat scale

>

> I've invested in a Tanita Bodyfat scale, but my readings are inconsistent.

>

> When and how is the best way to us this device?

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

just as a follow-up. Tanita doesn't directly measure BF but measures electrical resistance and estimates BF based on previous experimental measurements. I believe they used a bunch of college students to create the original curves.

I just measured myself after my run (when I typically weight less). Just for fun I measured by %BF before and after urinating. Strangely enough, according to my calculations I lost more fat than the urine weighed (funny I don't remember peeing magic gravy :-).

It's a nice scale tho..

JR

-----Original Message-----From: [mailto:crjohnr@...]Sent: Monday, October 18, 2004 11:18 AM Subject: RE: [ ] Re: Using Tanita Bodyfat scale

with a grain of salt... :-)

No, try to use under identical conditions (same time of day, same hydration level, same food in gut, etc). Then mentally or on paper average out readings over several days. I would advise caution about relying upon it's result for anything other than comparative (change or rate of change) measurements.

The Tanita offers far more precision than accuracy at least wrt to BF. The weight portion of the scale appears to be quite good.

JR

-----Original Message-----From: bernadettepawlik@... [mailto:bernadettepawlik@...]Sent: Monday, October 18, 2004 11:02 AM Subject: [ ] Re: Using Tanita Bodyfat scaleI've invested in a Tanita Bodyfat scale, but my readings are inconsistent.When and how is the best way to us this device?

[Guest guest]

>My readings on my Tanita have been fairly consistent. ....... Whether or not

it's accurate or not is debatable, to be sure, but not

really a great concern to me.

It is a great scale and its body fat measurements are consistant if you use it

under the same conditions each day. But it is not accurate. So, it is

" consistantly inaccurate " or " reliably inaccuate "

I think it was Consumers Union that did some testing on it a few years back and

found that it was off by about 5% on average depending on age, gender and

weight. I have been tested on DEXA and also have a Tanita and found it to be

about 5% off for me.

The fancier models have settings for athletic and normal adults and find the

athletic to be closer to accurate but still overestimates BF

Regard

jeff

[Guest guest]

Overestimates body fat?

When set on " Athletic " (I work out at least 1 hour/day) I either get

" Error " or " 1% " body fat. Set to " Adult " I get about 6-7% body fat. I

can't imagine this is an overestimate.

On Tue, 19 Oct 2004 11:06:12 -0400, Jeff Novick <jnovick@...> wrote:

> >My readings on my Tanita have been fairly consistent. ....... Whether or not

it's accurate or not is debatable, to be sure, but not

> really a great concern to me.

>

> It is a great scale and its body fat measurements are consistant if you use it

under the same conditions each day. But it is not accurate. So, it is

" consistantly inaccurate " or " reliably inaccuate "

>

> I think it was Consumers Union that did some testing on it a few years back

and found that it was off by about 5% on average depending on age, gender and

weight. I have been tested on DEXA and also have a Tanita and found it to be

about 5% off for me.

>

> The fancier models have settings for athletic and normal adults and find the

athletic to be closer to accurate but still overestimates BF

>

> Regard

> jeff

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Sorry,

the " over " estimate is in my case. They were found to do both.

I am copying the analysis here as its only availble with a password online.

January 2004

Body-fat scales: Will they help?

Concerns about fat and obesity have spawned a new kind of bathroom scale, one

that gives your weight and uses a weak electric current to measure the amount of

fat on your frame.

Some manufacturers claim that body-fat percentage, which the scales measure, is

key to health and fitness. But our tests suggest that the scales are not the

most reliable measure of body fat. Meanwhile, our consultants--who have done the

best research yet into the link between fat and health--say it's a mistake to

make too strong a connection between health and the amount of body fat you have.

" The connection between body fat and health outcome has defied a simple answer, "

says B. Heymsfield, M.D.,co-director of the body-composition laboratory

at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital, in New York. " That's why there is not a

standard for health based on body fat. "

MEASURING BODY FAT

For years, people have gauged obesity with the body-mass index, or BMI. The

formula considers height and weight, but not body-fat percentage. BMI is your

weight in pounds times 703, divided by the square of your height in inches. To

reckon your BMI, go to www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/bmicalc.htm

<javascript:Start('http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/bmicalc.htm')> .

Large long-term studies of people in many countries have shown that those with a

BMI below 25 have lower rates of diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure,

and overall mortality than do people with a BMI of 25 or more. A BMI of 30 or

more means you're obese; your risk of disease and death rises more sharply.

Researchers have begun to relate measures of body fat with BMI calculations.

However, no one knows what a healthy body-fat amount is, despite claims from the

manufacturers of some body-fat scales.

When you step barefoot on a body-fat scale's metal footpads, a minuscule

electrical current--much too low for you to feel--passes up one leg, through

your pelvis, and down the other leg. The amount of resistance that the current

encounters depends on the proportion of fat and muscle tissue. From this

information, the scale uses built-in formulas to estimate fat content.

In practice, the scales we tested were mediocre; you shouldn't take their

readings too literally. When compared with an accurate laboratory measure of

body fat, the best scale hit the mark for only about 80 percent of the

volunteers who tried it. The scales sometimes understated a volunteer's body

fat, sometimes overstated it. There was no way to predict which way the scales

would err. At least they were consistent, though. They always over- or

understated a person's body fat by the same amount.

HOW TO CHOOSE

Decide how much motivation you need. A body-fat scale is unlikely to give you

more useful information than your BMI. But a scale's readings, even if

inaccurate, may provide needed motivation --especially as you build weighty

muscle while shedding fat.

Balance body-fat and weight readings. If you're going to buy one of these

scales, make sure it scored well in weight accuracy. Most were at least good.

Look for important features. These matter the most:

* Multiple-user memory. Most can store personal data for 2 users. Others can

store as many as 10 profiles. The hardest to use, the Tanita Ultimate Scale,

requires users to enter data each time.

* Special modes. A few have a " guest " mode so that someone else can check body

fat. One has an " athlete " mode for those who work out a lot.

* Long warranty. A few offer a warranty lasting 10 years or more.

The best body-fat scale we tested was within 5 percentage points of our

laboratory standard for only about 80 percent of the people who tried it. We

found no correlation between a scale's ability to measure body fat accurately

and its ability to give accurate weights. However, because these scales give

consistent readings, they can provide the information and motivation you may

need to achieve your fat-reduction goals.

[Guest guest]

Do you think your actual BF is near 1%? It doesn't include that in brain and bones does it? Just wondering.

But let's say we're just interested in the fat in skeletal muscle, heart, kidneys, adipose, brown fat, that fat just under the skin. Do we know the ideal % for that fat assuming some "safety" factor for skipped meals, or other.

Regards.

----- Original Message -----

From: Dowling

Sent: Tuesday, October 19, 2004 10:19 AM

Subject: Re: [ ] Re: Using Tanita Bodyfat scale

Overestimates body fat?When set on "Athletic" (I work out at least 1 hour/day) I either get"Error" or "1%" body fat. Set to "Adult" I get about 6-7% body fat. Ican't imagine this is an overestimate.