Omron HBF-510W Full Body Composition Monitor with Scale
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Customer Reviews of Omron HBF-510W Full Body Composition Monitor with Scale
Customer Review: Does a good job
Summary: 5 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
The Omron Full Body Sensor Body Composition and Scale is designed to measure not only your weight but estimated values for body fat percentage, skeletal muscle percentage, visceral fat levels and BMI. Some body composition monitors rely on foot to foot measurements but the Omron monitor measures the whole body - arm to foot. Included are the monitor/scale; instruction manual; 4 AA batteries; and a measurement log sheet that can be copied for future use.
The Omron Full Body Sensor Body Composition and Scale is very easy to set up and use. Up to four people can create profiles and if you don't want a record of your results you can use the "guest" function on the monitor. You can use either the US system of measurement or the metric system. To use it, make sure you use your bare feet, step on the monitor correctly, and hold the display unit at a 90 degree angle keeping still while using it. Incorrect posture such as movement during measurement, bent arms, arms too low or high, bent knees, or standing on the edge of the monitor will result in inaccurate measurement of body composition. If you are disabled or physically frail you should either have someone help you or use some kind of support like a handrail or cane when using this.
For the most part the Omron Full Body Sensor Body Composition and Scale does a pretty decent job. It is very easy to read and the monitor has a digital display that uses a bar system (-; 0; +; ++) so you can instantly gauge your results: for example when measuring BMI - means you are underweight; 0 means your weight is normal; + means you are overweight; and ++ means you are obese. The instruction booklet has charts where you can look up the results. I found the measurements to be pretty much the same as the results of my weigh-in at my doctor's office as well as the Wii Fitness weight measurement, although the Omron Scale had me a couple of pounds heavier. I did have some problems initially getting the monitor to show results beyond my weight, but it's worked okay for me after those initial problems. One bit of warning - since there is a slight electrical current used in measuring results you should not use the device if you have a cardiac pacemaker or other implanted medical device or if you are pregnant.
Overall, I am happy with the Omron Full Body Sensor Body Composition and Scale.
Customer Review: Great scale, very accurate and easy to use
Summary: 5 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
This is a handy, reliable, compact scale that includes a full body sensor and body composition monitor. It measures weight, BMI, visceral fat, body fat and skeletal muscle. This is a product that surprised me. It works much better than I had expected. Last year, I went on a "food program" and lost 107 lbs -- so I know a thing or two about scales. During our weight loss phase, my husband and I purchased at least four scales. The last one was a physician's post and beam scale. I compared the reading from this scale to the Physician's scale to determine its accuracy (it was within a 1/4 pound of that scale). I weighed myself multiple times in a row to determine whether the scale would reliably produce the same result. In this category, I found reliable results when I weighed myself with the handset intact in the base. If I was holding the handset for the weight portion, the results varied by as much as 3/4 of a pound. This makes sense when you realize that the handset is attached to the base by the spiral cord (like a phone cord). So for the most accurate weight results, measure with the handset in the base. The body mass and fat readings seemed about correct to me -- but I don't have anything accurate to base those on. Frankly, I don't think any home scale really can measure those truly accurately, but they are fine to use as a motivational tool for weight loss. The scale is NOT completely intuitive, you will need to read the instruction manual in order to fully use the scale. Once you realize how to set everything, it is simple and easy to use. The instruction manual includes a couple of pages on "Long-term planning for successful weight loss", which I found a little odd -- but I suppose is a nice thought. The handset fits nicely into the base with an area that completely hides the cord. The on/off switch can be activated with your big toe, so that is also handy. One nice feature is that the scale is QUIET!! It doesn't beep to let you know that it has completed your reading. This may not sound like a big deal, but it is important when you have a spouse that likes to weigh himself every morning at 5am while you are still trying to sleep. I highly recommend this item!Customer Review: Provides Valuable Information
Summary: 5 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
I'm a person who tries to keep track of my health and keep an eye open for new things that I can do to improve on what I'm already doing. When the manufacturer offered this item for review I was very eager to see how well it could work and overcome the shortcomings of ordinary scales. I've been pleased with its performance. The accuracy isn't perfect, but it does give basically consistent numbers from day to day and it's a lot more important to me to have a sense of where I am compared to yesterday, last week, or last month, than to worry about the actual specific current number.
Just like any scale, you should use it at the same time of day every time to get numbers that are as comparable as possible. It'll store the basic data (age, height, sex) of up to 4 users and also has a guest option (to check weight only). I can see how some people would wish that it would store the information and make charts for you, but honestly there are so many good websites for tracking exactly this kind of information that I really don't think it would have been worth the extra time and expense to implement that kind of feature.
I really didn't find it difficult to set up, but I'm something of a gadget person. I wouldn't recommend this at all for someone who's completely uncomfortable using electronics and computers. For someone who just isn't quite sure you can program it, it wouldn't take more than a few minutes for a friend to put in the initial values for you, and after that it's very easy to use.
The information I've been getting from using this scale has been much more valuable and informative to me than a plain scale has ever been. It is more expensive than a model that only measures weight, but considering how expensive it can be in the long run if you let your health get away from you, I feel that it's better to invest in preventing as many problems as I can. So long as you're willing to actually use it around once a week, and to actually use the information it gives you by taking action if the numbers aren't looking good, I would definitely recommend this as a good option.
Customer Review: Do not use while pregnant.
Summary: 5 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
Sadly, I got this scale whilst pregnant, so have not been able to monitor consistently. The box warns that it is not recommended for pregnant women. I didn't feel that trying it out once to compare with my Tanita scale would be dangerous since I've been using the Tanita regularly throughout 3 pregnancies.
What I loved... all the features are great. I especially love that you can program for 4 different users. Hubby and I used to get annoyed with each other when one or the other would change the settings. It was a small ordeal to get off and start over again after every reprogramming.
What I didn't love... the cord could be a little longer. This would be stretched out maximally for anyone over about 6 foot to use. Not a problem for me, but still thought I'd mention it.
Hubby and I both saw significant differences in the readings between this and the Tanita. HOWEVER, my Tanita does not have a hand grip and is about 13 years old. I've used it largely to monitor gain/loss. The measurements I've done at home were consistent with a pro-grade Tanita I used at a high-end fitness center, but different from the measurements I had done on a scale by another brand, whose name I don't remember. I would lean towards saying this may be more accurate that Tanita simply because some people who've used it said their numbers were consistent with the doctor's office readings and calipers. Unfortunately, that's bad news for me, because the numbers here were higher than my Tanita. I don't know if being 6 months pregnant would alter the accuracy or not.
On another note, my husband is extremely lean and found his readings varied slightly the first few times that he used it. I'm guessing that it had to do with positioning the hand bar at a direct 90degree angle from the shoulders, as the reading's been more consisitent the past few times.
Overall, I feel this is pretty easy to use and seems to be more accurate than the Tanita and frankly, less expensive than the $100+ model that I owned from before. Overall, I would recommend it over several Tanita models.
Customer Review: It Works Well and Keeps on Working
Summary: 5 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
Scales of this nature are of little value if they do not weigh the subject accurately. How does one know if the scales are accurate? I'm glad you asked. I took this one to my primary care doc who has one of those fancy scales (sorta looks like a big animal platform scale) that has its own schedule for calibration. I took this scale to the office and weighed on the office scale and then compared my weight to the weight on this scale. The difference was one half pound in favor of the scale. I did it again and the results were the same. My doc tried it and, perhaps because he is lighter overall, the difference did not exist. So from that standpoint the scale weighs one with fairly decent accuracy. The other indicators could not be checked in a similar manner except that given my weight and height compared to the docs we could estimate that the body composition factors were at worse close to being accurate. I give the scale's performance Five Big Stars.
I had two minor issues that could stand thought for anyone interested in purchasing this item. The numbers on the scale could be considered small depending on one's eyesight. Before cataract surgery last year I could not have seen the numbers without glasses. After surgery the numbers show up clearly even though they are somewhat small. Reading glasses may assist. Larger numbers would help significantly and might be a factor when the newest model comes out. Another minor issue is the cord between the scale body and the scale readout device. A curled cord is great and stays out of the way when stored. When a tall person (6'3") uses it it stretches it considerably unless held at a lower level and then the parallel to the ground factor is diminished. I expect that in time (hopefully a long time because I really like the scale) it will stretch beyond its original intention.
Regardless of any negative comments this is still a fantastic scale and worthy of consideration. It's a family favorite in a short time.