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Body Fat Monitor Reviews

Tanita InnerScan Body Composition Monitor

The InnerScan is a series of three body fat monitors and scales made by Tanita. You can find a comparison chart of them at the Tanita website. (The BC-550 model is pictured.)

Here’s US News & World Report with an excellent review of the InnerScan series:

At last, a scale that people can't wait to step on. The $120 InnerScan from Tanita not only reveals your weight and body fat percentage but goes on to calculate visceral fat (the amount 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. If you're self-conscious, take heart: At least it doesn't laugh at you.  

Otherwise, it is unfortunately difficult to find independent reviews of body fat monitors and scales on the internet. Sales site like Amazon.com offer customer reviews, and these can be useful. Here’s a review of the Tanita BC533 from Amazon.com, from a reviewer who awarded it four stars (out of five):

I am a geek and I like all geekly stuff, at least initially. Even though I am only an average exerciser, I do have all sorts of gadgets telling me that "you are an average exerciser". This scale adds to my gadget collection well. I had previously used Tanita scales before and find their products consistent. If you use these types of monitors regularly, you should be much more concerned with consistency. If you are looking for one-time measurement, the variation of body composition throughout the day will skew the results depending on the time of measurement; but such is the limitation of this technology. However, if you measure daily over a period of time, you can really see the trend and correlate with your exercise levels, eating habits, etc.

Which brings to my only complaint why this product did not receive a 5 rating. Tanita could have easily increased the cost of memory of this unit by a penny and enable trending. I don't write down my daily measurements so I can only go off memory what my previous results were. If trending is part of this machine, I would have given it a 5.

* Get the Latest Price on the Tanita BC-533 InnerScan Body Composition Monitor.

* Get the Latest Price on the Tanita BC-534 InnerScan Body Composition Monitor.

* Get the Latest Price on the Tanita BC-550 InnerScan Body Composition Monitor.

March 13^th, 2006

* For more body fat monitor reviews please see The Personal Health Monitor Blog.