Tanita TBF-622 Body Fat Monitor and Scale

by Tanita

Product Features

• Operates on four AA batteries (included)
• Determines weight and estimates body fat with safe, low-level electrical pulse
• Works for both moderately active adults and extremely fit adults
• This model not for children 17 and younger
• Stores personal data for two users

Product Description

Amazon.com Review

This device might look like a scale, but it presents a broader snapshot of personal health by not only determining weight, but estimating body fat as well. It does this by sending a safe, imperceptible, low-level electrical pulse (50 kHz) through the body. (Healthcare professionals use similar electrical-pulse devices to estimate body fat by what is known as Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis, or BIA.) The device operates on four AA batteries (included), and its digital screen displays body-fat readings in 0.5 percent increments and weight in either 1/2-pound or 0.2 kg increments, up to 300 pounds or 136 kg.

The TBF-621 stores data (gender and height) for two users, and has two modes: adult (over 18, with low to moderate physical activity) and athlete (high physical activity, with a resting pulse rate of about 60). (Other models have a child mode for kids under 17.) Toe-tap a button to call up your data, and then step on the device. Within seconds, it displays your weight, followed by an estimate of body-fat percentage. Both will repeat before the device turns off automatically. Durable and easy to maintain, the device measures 12 by 11-3/4 inches and carries a one-year warranty against defects. --Fred Brack

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 11.5 x 11.8 x 2 inches ; 5 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 6.2 pounds
• ASIN: B00005EB7A
• UPC: 742496862211
• Item model number: TBF-622
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #285,147 in Health & Personal Care (See Top 100 in Health & Personal Care)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

246 of 249 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent piece of equipment lacking nothing, January 28, 2002

By 

Greenie (Boulder, CO USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tanita TBF-622 Body Fat Monitor and Scale (Health and Beauty)

Scale is very accurate, simple to use and remarkably easy to calibrate for your body type. I managed to get this on sale, but to be honest I would have been happy paying more...

As weight scales go, it's more accurate than the average bathroom unit. Most scales seem to fluctuate anywhere from 3-5 pounds each time you step on them after only a minute.

I was surprised at how accurate the body fat measurement was. I purchased this not expecting a true reading, but rather just to have something that would allow me to see if my fat content was rising, maintaining, or lowering.

Although I have been strongly active for years, I decided in November to make a real commitment towards pushing my athletic ability to the best it could be at my age (31). Part of this was getting my body fat content measured in the tank test, currently the most accurate method used by sports physicians.

My scale arrived in the mail before I my scheduled appointment for the tank test. Would that I had known beforehand how accurate the scale was -- measuring myself only 1 hour before my appointment, the scale gave a reading that was only 0.5% off of the results of my tank test. One hour after getting home, I checked the scale again, this time the scale gave me the same reading.

It should be noted that if you are serious about your fitness, I would still recommend the tank test as you learn a lot about your body's overall composition and have the opportunity to review your results with a physician.

Readout is large enough and easy to read. A friend commented that the readout has no backlight, and although this is true I don't see why I'd want to see my weight and fat percentage in the dark.

The unit also ships with plastic feet that can be mounted on the bottom of the unit for use on carpeting up to 1" thick. For me this was a nice bonus as I prefer to use this scale where my workout equipment is (carpeting), rather than the bathroom.

Overall a fantastic unit and a must-have if you're serious about improving or maintaining your physical conditioning.

84 of 84 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Works Well and Priced Right, January 18, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Tanita TBF-622 Body Fat Monitor and Scale (Health and Beauty)

I was going to buy a $99 Sharper Image body fat scale but did some research and found Tanita invented them and makes the most models (they have about a dozen different ones). This scale appealed to me because it has an "athlete" mode for exceptionally lean people. Also, the reviews on the other Tanita scales (on Amazon and elsewhere on the web) seemed generally better than those for other brands.

This scale reads weight to the nearest 0.2 pounds and body fat to the nearest 0.1%. The scale seems very accurate with weight. Unlike my old scale, I get very repeatable results with this one and it correlates well with the expensive beam type scale at my health club (also unlike my old one).

The body fat feature also works better than I expected. My body fat reads about 12% - 13% in the normal "adult" mode and about 8.5% in the "athlete" mode. The caliper method yields around 10% - 11% so I'm happy with the scale's reading (I'm don't qualify as an "athlete" by Tanita's standards--at least yet).

As you'll read in the manual (and elsewhere) hydration affects the accuracy of electrical body fat measurements. For that reason, you get the highest readings first thing in the morning when you're dehydrated from sleep. For me, it might be 13.5%. You get the lowest readings mid-day when you're well hydrated (for me about 12.0%). Women (or possibly men with much higher body fat?) seem to show a wider fluctuation.

I thought things like having wet feet right out of the shower or a full/empty bladder would affect the accuracy but they don't seem to. Short of drinking a bunch of water for a few hours before (or dehydrating yourself) there's not much you can do to change the body fat readings.

If you use the scale at roughly the same time each day, it's fairly consistent and indeed has been showing my progress with diet and exercise nicely.

There are two buttons on the front edge and you kick one or the other with your toe to turn the scale on and tell it which of two users you are. You have to program in your height, sex, etc. just once. It's easy to set up.

Once you kick the button, it takes 3 seconds or so to "zero" and then you step on. Your weight shows up nearly instantly and then the body fat measurement takes another few seconds. When it has both readings, it alternates back and forth showing them both on the display until it automatically shuts off.

I don't know how long it will last, but for now I'm quite happy with mine.

36 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Two thumbs up for TBF-622, October 4, 2002

By 

Simon Waddington (Oakland, California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Tanita TBF-622 Body Fat Monitor and Scale (Health and Beauty)

...

Eschewing style for function, and starting a diet I was persuaded by the glowing reviews and a recent price reduction to go with this scale. I'm happy to say I wasn't disappointed.

After two weeks of use I can say this is a very accurate scale. This scale weighs to .2 pound resolution which is close to 0.1 percent of your typical body mass. Because its so accurate even slight movement (swaying, muscle movement) while on the scale can cause some variation hence you can expect to see a +- .2 variation from one weighing to the next. That's not really a problem for me and don't be deterred thinking the scale is inaccurate. If you stand very still you'll see the same value time after time (until you loose or gain weight of your own accord!).

I can't really comment on the body fat measurement since I've never had a third party measurement to compare with. I've experienced about a 5-10% variation either way between successive measurements. I suspect its not getting my feet accurately on the pads or moisture. However that accuracy is within the daily variation you'll see anyway from varying water levels in your body. Just measure at the same time of day and keep a record and you should be able to detect a steady change if you're dieting or doing something else that will change your body fat.

The scale has two kick buttons at the front which allow you to select from two body profiles. The profile includes your height, body type (normal/athletic) and gender. The profile only affects your body fat measurement anyone can wiegh themselves - they just have to know to kick one of the switches first to turn on the scale. After measurements stabalize you can step off the scale and they will flash for several seconds - this allows those vision problems (I can't read the figures without my glasses - but they are plenty big enough to see with them) to stoop down and take a close look.

This scale uses 4 AA batteries (included) so no expensive lithiums to buy and you could even use rechargeables if you really wanted. I've no idea how long they last, I'll update this review if they ever run out.

Unlike the Health-o-meter I've had no problems with tipping on this scale, it does not have separate feet - the base sits directly on the floor.

In short - a functional, well designed and accurate digital scale, well worth the purchase price.