TANITABC-533 Digital Bathroom Scale - Japan Technology Clear Glass Smart Innerscan Body Composition Monitor, Measures Weight, Body Fat, Muscle Mass, BMI, Bone Mass, Visceral Fat - FSA/HSA Eligible

For many years I used a digital scale that gave me a different readout each time I used it. I like to weigh daily but found that stepping up and down on the scale several times to get an average weight was frustrating. I thought that was the norm with scales until I started reading scale reviews and discovered that many people found the Tanita line to be accurate. If they weighed several times in a row they got a consistent readout. They did not have to take an average as I did with my Health-O-Meter. As a treat to myself, for losing 10 pounds, I decided to purchase a Tanita and after doing some research opted for the Tanita BC533.The Tanita BC533 is a state of the art scale that measures your weight (to two-tenths of a pound), body fat, visceral fat, bone mass, metabolic age and muscle mass. It is very simple to operate. You input your height, weight, average physical activity level and age. The Tanita will remember this information for up to four people so you only have to do it once, unless your information changes. (There is also a guest mode if a visitor wants to try it.) Once you have programmed the scale you toe tap your number, step on the platform and you will see your weight and body fat measurement. (Note - If you wear socks the body fat measurement will not work.) Then you can toe tap other buttons of your choice. A little figure gives you a visual cue as to what the buttons are. For example for muscle mass the figure is holding weights. For bone mass there is a tiny skeleton inside the figure. You decide which body composition features you wish to check. You may for example want to check your bone mass once a month, or then again you may want to check it weekly. It's up to you. It's as simple as pressing the corresponding button, and takes only seconds.Tanita has also introduced the Ironman Innerscan line. I was not sure of the difference so I called customer service. Amber went out of her way to explain the benefits of the Innerscan line, and the basic difference between the regular Innerscan and the Ironman. The Ironman gives you your BMI or basal metabolic caloric rate. This is the basic number of calories your body needs. The regular Innerscan (like the BC533) gives you your DCI instead. The DCI is a calculation where the BMI is multiplied by your activity level to tell you the number of calories you are taking in to maintain the weight you are. When you see this information you can then adjust up or down to help you gain or lose weight or stay the same. Nifty!Tanita includes a guide with the scale that explains exactly how the scale works. The scale is a bioimpedence device. A low level current (which you don't feel) passes through your body and the impedance or resistance level is used to calculate body composition. The booklet explains healthy ranges of body fat and also explains what body water percentage, visceral fat, etc. mean.The scale is also very attractive. Sleek styling and easy to use. Those with poor vision may find the buttons a little hard to see. But the visual clues will help. Despite the glass surface the scale stays very clean.The BC533 is an outstanding tool to help you accomplish your health goals!

UPDATE (5/31/17) --This scale still works fantastic! I am so happy that I made the purchase over 7yrs ago. It has survived moving across the country twice without glitches or damage. My only complaint with it is that the settings do not automatically update the age in your profile. I don't know if this affects the accuracy in any way, but I'd assume that it would only affect it minimally.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ORIGINAL REVIEW --I bought this scale over two years ago after reading about it in Women's Health magazine ([...]). It was one of their top choices in their write-up on body composition technology after comparing it to several other methods widely used by health professionals.The scale has 4 presets (so you and 3 other people and quickly and easily check your body composition). The machine asks several questions in setting up each profile including height and activity level. One gripe is that the scale doesn't automatically update your actual age (so, according to my profile, I'm still the age I was when I bought it -- but that doesn't affect the performance of the scale. It only affects the profile ID, so I haven't updated it). The weight, water %, muscle weight, and fat % functions are measured to the nearest tenth. The scale seems pretty sturdy (no glitches in 2+ years) and it looks sleek. It also provides additional indicators (visceral fat, metabolic age, etc.)This is a great choice for an in-home, at-your-finger-tips, body composition reading. I highly recommend it. It would be really cool if it could store you past readings on the scale for a quick comparison, but that is something that you can easy track on your own. It's a good tool to track your overall health, but always remember that every piece of technology has glitches so never change your eating/exercise regime if your composition numbers fluctuate a little. If you are very concerned about your body composition or overall health, you should see your doctor.

This provides a lot of information, much more than just weight, and is very consistant. We have used this every day for over 15 years and it seems to function very well. I read other reviews from other websites on this, like thecompetitiveedge.com. Do some research. I weigh my dog on it (by holding him then weighing myself and subtracting, getting the difference, and the same with my luggage), too (you can select just 'weight' with your toe). Great memory (age, height, and fitness settings, too) and holds several people's information and has a guest setting. You can also choose adult or child. Do not use if pregnant or plan to be at the time of use as an un-feel-able amount of DC goes through your legs (not the belly or above the waist). It is about the size of a typical bathroom scale. I cannot vouch for its fat 'accuracy' but it seems right or at least close enough to compare. The scale seems very accurate. Though it will weigh someone up to 330 lbs., one may need the larger scale if they cannot see the readout. I changed the batteries once in 8 years (it has auto off, but it has never failed or indicated I needed to nor does it become inaccurate over time. The glass seems unbreakable and I would not worry about it; it has rubber feet. I do not recommend using this on carpet, but it does reset itself to 0; just seems to me the carpet/pad could absorb some weight. On a 'scale' of 1-10 I give this a 10, meaning tops. This is one of those good investments that can save you much more in medication. I highly recommend this nice looking informative lightweight scale, would buy again, and I hope this helps someone.