Easy To Read Large Digital Display
Weight Body Fat% and BMI In Seconds
4 Personal Profiles with Previous Measurements Results
1 Scale For The Whole Family
Weight Capacity Up To 330 lbs.
Batteries Included
Contents:
1 Fat Loss Monitor with scale
4 "AA" Batteries
1 Instruction Manual
Measure the result of your Weight Loss Program
Lose the "right" weight Fat not Muscle
What is most important about Weight?
It's very important to lose excess body fat as opposed to muscle mass. Lean muscle is needed for your body to function well... look your best and avoid health risks. The Omron Fat Loss Monitor with Scale gives you the ability to track the fat you are losing.
Accurate body fat calculations using Bioelectrical Impedance Technology
Body fat and muscle tissue have different levels of electrical conductivity. The Fat Loss Monitor with Scale sends a safe low-level electrical current through you body to calculate the amount of body fat tissue. This is known as the Bioelectrical Impedance (BI) Method. Your body fat percentage is automatically calculated using the body fat tissue amount you height weight age and gender information. Omron provides you with the accurate and reliable information you need to help measure your progress in achieving your health and fitness goals.
Model: HBF-400
Weight: 0 to 330lbs. with 0.2lb increments
Body fat percentage: 5.0 to 60.0% with 0.1% increments
BMI: 7.0 to 90.0 with 0.1 increments
Body fat percentage / BMI classification: - (Low) / 0 (Normal) / + (High) / ++ (Very High) with 12 levels of bar display
Set ranges:
Height: 3'4" to 6' 3/4"
Age: 10 to 80 years old
Gender: Male / Female
Power Supply: 4 AA batteries
Battery life: Approximately 1 year (when used four times a day)
Operating temperature and humidity: 50°F to 104°F 30% to 85% RH
Storage temperature and humidity: -4°F to 140°F 10% to 95% RH

• Provides accurate measurement of weight body fat percentage and body mass index (BMI)


• Supports up to four personal profiles so each member of your family can track their own measurements


• BMI classified at three levels: underweight normal overweight and obese


• Provides measurements for people of nearly all heights (3'4" to 6' 6-3/4") and nearly all ages (10 to 79 years)


• Measures 12.2 x 11.8 x 2.1 inches (L x W x H)

More detail ...

Directionally Correct but Accurate???

I've used a simple model from Tanita for over 5 years and was as happy as a man with one clock -- I knew exactly what time it was. The added features of the BC554 were irresistable but now I had 2 sources of data and they were not in agreement by a significant amount (e.g. 3% body fat difference on a base of 16%).



The weight measurement is as good as ever: precise accurate and consistent. The best that can be said of the other functions is that they seem to be directionally correct and some are simply 'figures of merit' not measurements at all.



Customer support is surprising. When I asked the inevitable questions via their web site I received a phone call from them. The answers made sense but only reinforce my assessment.



It seems that the algorithms are based on a statistical sample using gender age height and 'athleticism'. If your actual profile is close to the sample population the accuracy is probably pretty good. But as you progress toward 'athletic' and away from the calibration population accuracy declines.



It seems to me that anyone purchasing this model is serious enough about fitness to fall into this 'no man's land'. The other issue is that I would expect some continuity between the measures for 'standard adult' and 'athletic adult'. But there is a chasm! I measured 19% at 'standard' and 9% at 'athletic'. The first is clearly too high and the second is too low. Maybe a calculated average is closer to an accurate reading but that is a serious shortcoming in a top-of-the-line product.



So simpler & cheaper is my recommendation. Accept the idea that you are getting directionally correct numbers that are only accurate if you match the calibration population profile.More detail ...

Good Value Choice

I previously owned the Tanita 2001 body fat scale. When that one died I upgraded to the 679W Duo model and have been very pleased.



FEATURES

The scale measures weight body fat % and body water %. The scale has 4 metal pads that will send a low-level electrical current through your body. People with higher muscle content will allow the electrical current to traverse their bodies with less resistance than a Mr. McFatty person. The scale measures this resistance and calculates your body fat and hydration levels from it. I have found the weight body fat and body water measurements to be highly accurate when compared to a couple other scales that I've stepped on recently.



EASE OF USE

There are three buttons on the face of the scale right below the display that allow you to input your sex age and height. It's all very simple to make selections and input these data. Along with these three face buttons are three toe buttons at the bottom of the scale. You can store personal info for two users (the sex height and age info) into two of the buttons. Then everyday when you want your measurements if you're User 1 just touch Toe Button 1 or if you're User 2 touch Toe Button 2 and step on the scale. This way you do not have to input all that info every single time (like you need to with the Tanita 2001). This is a great feature. Some other brands or other Tanita models offer 2-10 User Memory but they often do not have corresponding toe buttons which means you still have to bend your fat self down and hit the user button with your finger first. Believe me after 3 days of that you're not going to want to do that anymore.



The third Toe Button is a Weight Toe Button that you can hit if you just want the scale to act as a normal scale. Finally you can bend down and use your fingers to input age height and sex as a one-time use for a guest.



DURABILITY

I've had my scale for 9 months now and it's always worked fine with no problems. It takes 4 AA batteries and I'm still using the ones that came included with the scale despite my nearly daily use. This is much better battery life than the Tanita 2001 model which seemed to only last 4 months or so. You will only need to occasionally wipe off the metal footpads to keep them clean for accurate readings. No big deal.



PROBLEMS/MISCONCEPTIONS

Honestly for about $50 there are no problems with this unit. It's a great buy. However I read some negative reviews here from confused people. First there are warnings all over the box and on the site that tell you not to use this product if you have a pacemaker or internal electronic device that's keeping you alive. This is obviously because it measures your body fat by sending an electrical current through your body. C'mon think people. And this isn't just for the BF679W it's for all "commercial" body fat scales. Second reviewers talk about the consistency of the body fat measurements. Your body fat can fluctuate 1 or 2 percent over the course of the day with these types of electrical conductance measurements based on where your body is currently holding water. If you always take your reading at the same time each night (right before you goto bed is ideal) you'll typically find consistent readings within 0.5% - 1%. If you measure your body fat right after you wake up there will be all kinds of water centrally concentrated in your bladder that will mess up the readings. Again this happens with all commercial body fat scales. Finally it's possible the BF679W tells you that you have 17% body fat and really you have 15% body fat based on thorough measurements from your doctor's office. I still think the number is going to be very close to your real body fat percentage. However this scale will still be able to do a reliable accurate job informing you when you've lost or gained an extra percent or two of body fat over the course of several weeks. So while your absolute body fat numbers could be slightly off with the BF679W your relative gains and losses will still be highly quantifiable with this unit.



Overall this is a outstanding durable scale that delivers dependable readings. I strongly recommend it and would encourage people who are thinking of buying the Tanita 2001 or any other body fat scale that does not have toe buttons to purchase this model instead; it's worth it.More detail ...

Great Scale with Bonsuses

As a scale the Omron HBF-500 is excellent. It is consistent in tests with my wife and I (who are more than 100 pounds different in weight) the scale gave the same weight each of 5 times in a row that we stepped on it. So it is consistent. I am a nurse and weighed myself on our calibrated scales and found that this scale weighed me 0.5 pounds heavier than the hospital one which can be explained by the glass of water I drank when I got home. So it is both consistent and accurate.



So what about the body fat monitor: As to the accuracy of the monitor I cannot speak. However it is very consistent much more consistent than the experience that I have had with the handheld-only monitors from Omron. The scale will calculate your percent body fat & your percent skeletal muscle. It will also give you a reading of your visceral body fat which is a better indicator of your health risk associated with body fat (visceral body fat is the fat which is inside your body surrounding your organs which subcutaneous fat is the fat that we all see just under our skin). Using these calculations and the user-defined height weight and age data that you enter it will give you your resting metabolic energy needs for the day to give you an idea of how much you should be eating to lose weight in a healthy manner.



The scale has 4 user profiles so that 4 different users can use the scale and track their data. Data can be recalled letting you know what your measurements were yesterday a week ago a month ago and 3 months ago.



The handle fits well inside the front of the scale. I was expecting the scale to be bulkier than it is. It is just a little taller than a normal scale and very attractive. It isn't something that you're going to need to hide between uses. Just put it where any normal bathroom scale would fit.



The scale is a little bit difficult to use if you haven't read the instruction manual. The good news is that the manual is very easy to use and very informative. Plan on 5-10 minutes of reading time when your scale first arrives. You will be glad that you learned all about what your new scale does. After skimming the manual my wife and I are both able to operate the scale and use all of its functionality.



Price-wise this seems like an excellent value. The cost of a high-quality scale added to the price of a decent Body-fat monitor (which won't give you the more detailed body composition detail of this hands-and-feet monitor) will be more than the price of this one unit. Also this unit keeps all of your data in one location. So for the price this unit was a no-brainer for me when it was time to buy a new scale after my old one stopped being consistent and accurate.



Highly recommended.More detail ...