OMRON BF511 Family Body Composition Monitor with 8-Sensor Full Body Measurement, BMI, Body Fat Percentage Analysis - Digital Weighing Scale for Adults/Kids (6 Years+) - 330 lbs / 150 kg Capacity

Firstly excellent scales - simple to use, good price and very repeatable measurements.Weight is a perfect match with the scale at my doctors and is precise down to 0.2 lbs / 0.1kg.Body fat, etc is very difficult to measure accurately with scales like these that rely on conductivity but with both the feet and hand sensors it has the best chance of accurate measurements. However, yesterday I had the opportunity to find out exactly how accurate these scales are. I had something called an DXA (or DEXA) scan which is a form of mini XRay that tells you exactly how many grams of fat, lean tissue and bone you have in each limb and AFAIK is the most accurate way of working out body composition short of an autopsy. PS: it's not a good idea to mess around with XRays for none critical conditons so this isn't a recommendation of DXA scanning but given I have had one it does tell us how accurate these scales are...It'll probably be obvious from these numbers that I'm not fit (yet) so don't laugh - I'm working on it :)Background info: Male, 34, CaucasianHeight: 177cmWeight: 81.9kgBody Fat: 29.6% (Omron scales), 32.8% (DXA Scan)Visceral Fat: 11% (Omron scales), 8.8% (DXA Scan)Lean Mass: 33.6% (Omron scales), 63.0% (DXA Scan)So, the body fat percentage for me at least was very accurate. The visceral fat was an overestimate but not by a huge amount. The Lean mass is miles off, however I think there's a difference in what's being measured here. I believe the Omron scales are estimating muscle whereas the DXA scan is measuring all lean tissue (ie: everything that isn't bone or muscle = organs, ligaments and muscle). Overall I'm very pleased with the accuracy and repeatability of these scales and for measuring relative changes in body composition they should be very helpful.Good stuff:* High accuracy measuring weight and total body fat percentage.* Decent measure of internal body fat (the really bad stuff).* Simple to use - step on to get your weight, press the profile button on the handle to measure everything.* 4 profiles/users* Shows current readings and last readings for comparison* Measures in kg and lbs to 0.2lb and 0.1kg accuracy* Quick ~5 seconds for measurements* AA batteries (included)* 3 year warrantyBad stuff:* Only remembers last measurement (seperate memory for each profile/user) so need to keep a pad of paper to track long term changes* Electrical conductivity measures can be heavily affected by water content so you really need to way at around the same time each day under the same conditions - ie: drinking water before measuring changes the results.* Doesn't send results to phone/computer/whatever - personally I think this is an advantage as it's simple and does exactly what you need but some people really want an app on their phone *shrugs*.

This machine is an essential aid, for General Fitness Training, or simply monitoring weight loss, and maintaining correct healthy weight,and the main healthy body composition levels.(Good body composition is a vastly better indication of health and fitness than merely exercising down to an "ideal weight" alone.It is not for serious Bodybuilders,or highly trained athletes(and the Omron manual specifically states this.), but is fine for the restof us mere mortals, who simply wish to get in shape, keep fit,and maintain healthy body composition, and weight.I have been a bit of a fitness freak for the last 20 years, and have always used these types of machines to guide me in my general fitness training.This machine is the best that I have tried so far, the weight reading is "spot on",body fat readings seem as reasonably accurate as can be obtained on home machines at the under £100 price tag.The muscle reading seems to be reasonable too,and it is a bonus to have an indication of dangerous "Visceral" fat levels.Omron provide a good manual with charts,so you can check your readings against them to see how well you are doing in working towards your targets(and the healthy figures range applicable to you).The Charts information is accurate,but for the Body Mass Index Chart, which is not "Age Related",as the others correctly are.For those of you who purchase this item it can be useful to note(if applicable) that after the age of 45 years the" Normal range" BMI figures,are subject to a "slider",so that from 45 to 54 yrs Normal BMI is from 22 to 27" 55 to 65 yrs " " " " 23 to 28and " 65 to 80 yrs " " " " 24 to 29.If this is your first machine of this type,do not obsess over the figures too precisely, or take excessively frequent readings.Remember that your body is in a constant state of flux.Your weight usually varies by about 2 to 4 lbs from one end of the day to the other(for obvious reasons - think about it!!) Body fat and Muscle percentages also slightly vary along similar lines depending on hydration at the time.(The manual gives excellent guidance on when to best take your readings to ensure consistency and accuracy.)As a regular trainer visiting the Gym three mornings each week,I like to take my readings at the same time every Sunday morning to ensure consistency, assess the effect of my work outs, and adjust the exercise structure if necessary for the coming week.Some trainers only take readings once per month, and keeping a monthly log of your figures is useful for tracking purposes.All in all this is an extremely competitively priced machine,of decent construction, versatile for home use,which produces reasonable "assessments" of body composition, relative to the limitations of the technology involved.If you are serious about health and fitness this will be an invaluable aid to start you off,but it is very worthwhile and interesting to make the effort to learn about the associated physiology, and fitness training regimes.( Loads of information is available on the web, but remember some may be selling something,and some others are slanted towards serious athletes,and lifters in training for specific events,and go beyond ,what us mere fitness trainers may reasonably wish to achieve,or indeed practically require.