Tanita is a world leader in body composition and weight measurement with a reputation for accuracy and quality
that has made Tanita the standard against which other scales and body fat monitors are weighed.
Tanita was the first company to design and manufacture body fat monitoring scales for in-home use. The
technology you get when you buy a home scale is based on the same advanced technology found in Tanita’s
professional body composition analyzers used by doctors, medical centers, professional athletic teams, fitness
clubs and personal trainers.
Tanita’s digital monitors are distinguished by their accuracy, reliable performance, rust resistance for
moisture protection and unique features.
Features Overview
- Highly accurate body monitor
- Weight
- Body fat %
- Total body water %
- Modes
- Adult
- Child
- Athlete
- Guest
- Body fat ranges
- Recall
- Tracks 10 previous weight and body fat % readings with calendar date
- Weight only button
- Healthy range indicator
- 4-person memory
- Easy-to-read 2.3" x 2.5" LCD display
- Two-line display shows both weight and body fat % at the same time
- White with light gray
- 3-year manufacturer’s warranty
Technical Specifications
- Capacity: 330 lbs.
- Weight increment: 0.2 lbs
- Body fat increment: 0.1%
- Measures: 12.2" x 11.8" x 1.8"
- Weighs: 5.3 lbs.
- Power: 4 "AA" batteries [included]
Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis [BIA]
Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis or BIA 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. Safe, low-level electrical signals are passed through the body via the patented Tanita footpads on the monitor platform. It is easy for the signal to flow through fluids in the muscle and other body tissues but meets resistance as it passes through body fat, as it contains little fluid. This resistance is called impedance. The impedance readings are then entered into medically researched mathematical formulas to calculate your body composition. Weight is calculated automatically along with body fat content in less than a minute.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Why is it important to monitor body fat percentage?
A: Measuring weight alone is not a completely accurate assessment of health or fitness because it doesn't distinguish pounds that come from fat and pounds that come from lean muscle mass. Everyone needs some body fat, but too much fat results in obesity — one of the most important public health issues in the United States. According to new federal guidelines, more than half of the U.S. adult population are now overweight or obese, and one out of four children and adolescents is too fat.
Q: What is Body Fat percentage?
A: Body fat percentage is the amount of body fat as a proportion of your body weight. Reducing excess levels of body fat has shown to reduce the risk of certain conditions such as high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes and cancer. Your Body Composition Monitor automatically compares your body fat percentage reading to the Healthy Body Fat Range chart. After your body fat percentage has been calculated, a black bar will flash along the bottom of the display, identifying where you fall within the Body Fat Ranges for your age and gender.
Q: What is Total Body Water percentage?
A: Total Body Water Percentage is the total amount of fluid in a person's body expressed as a percentage of their total weight. Water plays a vital role in many of the body's processes and is found in every cell, tissue and organ. Maintaining a healthy total body water percentage will ensure the body functions efficiently and will reduce the risk of developing associated health problems.
Your body water levels naturally fluctuate throughout the day and night. Your body tends to be dehydrated after a long night and there are differences in fluid distribution between day and night. Eating large meals, drinking alcohol, menstruation, illness, exercising, and bathing may cause variations in your hydration levels.
Your body water percentage reading should act as a guide and should not be used to specifically determine your absolute recommended total body water percentage. It is important to look for long-term changes in total body water percentage and maintain a consistent, healthy total body water percentage.
Drinking a large quantity of water in one sitting will not instantly change your water level. In fact, it will increase your body fat reading due to the additional weight gain. Please monitor all readings over time to track the relative change.
Every individual varies but as a guide the average total body water percentage ranges for a healthy adult are:
Female: 45 to 60%
Male: 50 to 65%
Source: Based on Tanita's internal research
Note: The total body water percentage will tend to decrease as the percentage of body fat increases. A person with a high percentage of body fat may fall below the average body water percentage. As you lose body, fat the total body water percentage should gradually move towards the typical range given above.
Q: Are there any illnesses directly linked to obesity?
A: Obesity is directly linked with Diabetes Type II and hypertension, and is a contributing risk factor for many other conditions including heart disease, sleep disorders, arthritis, gall bladder disease, stroke, and several forms of cancer. Awareness and monitoring of body fat percentage can be a motivational tool for a fitness or weight management program. Additionally, with any chronic degenerative disease, monitoring body fat and lean body mass is critical to evaluation, treatment, and management of the condition. This information is helpful in determining a suitable exercise and nutritional program on an individual basis.
Q: Is it possible to have too little body fat?
A: Yes. Both extremes — too much or too little body fat — put an individual at risk for serious medical and/or psychological conditions. Having a very low body fat percentage, particularly for women, can result in musculoskeletal problems and osteoporosis. And it can upset the hormonal balance causing loss of menstruation. Striving for extremely low body fat can also result in severe eating disorders, such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia, and binge eating which have significant health implications.
Q: Are there optimal conditions for determining body fat percentage using Tanita's products?
A: Yes, there are — select a consistent time of day, and stick to it, with an empty bladder, and when normally hydrated. Things that can affect hydration include: strenuous exercise, recent food intake diuretics such as caffeine, alcohol, and certain medications. Early morning is not recommended because the body is often dehydrated after a night's sleep. Once you have established your baseline, monitor body fat about twice a month. Checking body fat more frequently is not beneficial as changes occur slowly over time.
Q: How does the Tanita Body Fat Monitor determine my body fat?
A: Tanita uses its own proprietary method of Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis [BIA]. Tanita's leg-to-leg version of BIA produces very accurate results that are highly correlated with both DEXA [Tanita's reference method] and hydrostatic weighing. Measurements are very repeatable when tests are performed under consistent conditions. The equipment is not expensive, making Tanita a professionally-accepted method that can be adapted easily for home use. There is no physical imposition to the user; no need for a trained technician to operate the equipment; and the entire procedure takes less than one minute.
Q: Are there people for whom the monitor is not appropriate?
A: People with pacemakers are advised not to use the monitors. Although there are no known health risks, this is a precaution that is advocated by all manufacturers of BIA. Accuracy is an issue for certain categories of people, but the units may still be used to monitor trends and accurately show degree of change. They include: pregnant women, and those who exceed the weight capacity of the scale [models vary] and/or exceed 75% body fat, and professional athletes and bodybuilders.
Q: How accurate and reliable are Tanita's Body Fat Monitor/Scales?
A: Independent research at several major universities [including Columbia University in New York City] has confirmed that in clinical settings, the Tanita Body Fat Monitor is accurate within +/- 5 percentage of the institutional standard of body composition analysis — Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DEXA). It should be made clear that there is only one method of calculating body composition that is close to 100% accurate, and that is an autopsy. Tanita believes its method to be the most convenient and accessible to accurately predict body composition. Tanita's Body Fat Monitor Series results are repeatable to within +/- 1 percent variation when used under consistent conditions.
Q: What conditions might cause skewed results or an "Error" reading in the display?
A: Hydration fluctuations which may result from alcohol or food consumption, sleep, intense exercise, medication or pre-menstruation. Also, very full bladder, severe calluses on heels or soles of feet [about 1/400 people tested].
Q: What type of maintenance is necessary?
A: There is simply no maintenance other than the use of alcohol to wipe the foot pads clean and glass cleaner to keep them shiny-always apply to a cloth first and then to the product; avoid soaps.
Q: How will I know if my Tanita Monitor needs recalibrating?
A: An "Error" or "Sub" code might appear on the readout; the digital display might not "zero out" after your last measurement; or the results might be erratic and non-repeatable.
Q: How does age affect body fat percent?
A: Research has determined that as we age there is a tendency to increase body fat and decrease muscle mass. This is a natural progression unless you increase exercise as you age. The age equations now being utilized on the latest Tanita products are designed to provide greater accuracy in the estimation of body fat. Previous models did not have this data and therefore were not as accurate as the current models.
Q: Is the Body Fat monitor safe to use for women who are pregnant?
A: There is no known health risks associated with pregnant woman using the Tanita Body Fat Monitor/Scales. Since research has not been done on this population extensively we advise women who are pregnant to use the Body Fat Monitors for weight purposes only. Since there are dynamic physiological changes that occur during pregnancy, a pregnant woman cannot expect an accurate body fat reading. Since obtaining an accurate reading during pregnancy is not possible, it would not be recommended to monitor your body fat until after delivery.
Q: Is the Body Fat Monitor safe to use if you have a medical device or implant?
A: Persons with pacemakers or other electronic medical implants should not use the monitor. Persons with non-electronic medical implants may safely use the monitor. Any metallic implant in your body could affect the body fat reading, giving a slightly lower than normal reading. However, since the metal will continue to have the same effect on the reading each time you use the monitor, you can still use the monitor to successfully track the relative change in body fat over time.
Q: What are the Body Fat ranges for children?
A: Appropriate body fat ranges for children under eighteen have not been universally established at this time. Physiological changes during childhood, especially during puberty make it difficult to establish universal body fat ranges for all children. Tanita's recommendation is to consult your family physician if you are concerned about your child's body fat percentage.
Q: Are the Body Fat Monitors intended for Body Builders or professional athletes? Who is considered an athlete vs. standard adult?
A: If you are an adult who has approximately 10 hours of intense physical activity and have a resting heart rate of approximately 60 beats per minute or less, you probably need to use the Athlete Mode.
Tanita uses a mathematical formula to determine body fat percentage based upon these variables: height, weight, gender, age group and resistance [impedance]. The Athlete Mode uses a mathematical formula that is different than that used in the Adult Mode. The Athlete Mode was designed through population studies of individuals meeting the above criteria.
Populations of professional athletes and body builders have not been studied to establish a separate mode for this unique group. Professional athletes and body builders are advised that since the models have not been designed with them specifically in mind, they may obtain a higher than normal body fat reading. Despite this fact, many of these elite athletes have used the Tanita Body Fat Monitor/Scales successfully to gauge their progress of losing body fat. The great repeatability of the product enables one to establish a baseline and use the product for "trending purposes" to assess loss or gain in body fat over time.
Q: Why does my body fat percent fluctuate?
A: The Tanita Body Fat Monitor/Scales use state of the art technology, BIA [Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis]. This method of body fat analysis is very accurate and easy to use; however, changes in hydration levels can affect readings. If your body is dehydrated, you will likely experience a higher than normal reading. If you are over-hydrated, you could experience a slightly lower reading. To obtain the greatest accuracy and repeatability from our product, Tanita suggests the following protocol.
- Take readings at least 3 hours after rising, eating a large meal, or exercising.
- Take readings once a week at the same time of day under the same conditions.
[Note: Taking readings more than once per week is not beneficial since body fat does not change from day to day.]
- Average your readings for the month.
- Compare averages from month to month.
By following this format, hydration fluctuations throughout the month will average out, and you will be able to better assess any real change in your body fat percentage over time.
Q: Why do I get different readings when I change the gender or height information?
A: At this time, there is no absolute measurement of body fat other than an autopsy. Other body fat measurement methods [i.e., Calipers, Underwater Weighing, BIA, etc.] will indirectly measure body fat. In order to determine body fat, an estimate is made from know measurements. Tanita uses the variables: height, weight and impedance to determine body fat percentage. These variables are used in a highly researched, proprietary formula to make the body fat assessment. If any of the variables are changed, the resulting body fat reading will also change. By artificially altering your height or weight, you will also alter the resulting reading. Because of the physiological differences between men and woman, the monitors must be calibrated for men differently than woman. Woman will receive an incorrect low reading on the male mode and men will receive an incorrect high reading on the female made. To obtain accurate readings, it is imperative that one use the proper gender mode.
It is recommended that one monitor their body fat once a week, average the results for the month and then compare monthly averages to determine if there is a gain or loss of body fat over time. By eating right, exercising and monitoring your body fat, you are making the right steps for a healthier life.