Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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112 of 114 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good Value Choice, April 29, 2007
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.
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124 of 140 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Keeping Us Honest, December 2, 2005
As a person who struggles with her weight, I've come to the decision that there are three things every weight conscious person needs to own: a good weight scale, a pedometer, and a well designed diet journal. (You can check out my other reviews for my recommendations on those). But why those items? Because otherwise, we have a rather flawed tendency to be dishonest with ourselves as to what we really weigh, how much exercise we really did, and how much we really eat. Case in point: the Tanita BF679W. Now, here's a well designed, attractive scale that seems flawlessly accurate. It's easy to use, and stores personal information for two people and 'guests' [who can enter their information in on a third monitor]. You simply enter your age and your height and the scale thereafter comes up with not only a true, accurate (yes, folks, I'm afraid I weighed ten pounds more than I was wishing I did) weight, but also the percentage of body fat and your body's water level. Most of us know why weight and body fat percentage are important, but how many of know what's imortant about your body's water level? Anyway, it's all nicely explained inside the owner's manual. So why stick with an old, unreliable scale that keeps you fooling yourself? Get smart and get the Tanita. I've no doubt that you'll be as pleased with its accuracy as I am. And at least you won't be fooling yourself anymore.
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26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
BF with hydration... the right metric, July 10, 2007
Forget your overall weight... work on re-composing your body... in other words: Getting your body fat down. Great scale for this. Accurate as I had a impendance type measure done by medial pros and it came out the same. One note... you must reach your full hydration level in order for body fat measures to be accurate. If you aren't properly hydrated as indicated by the scale then ignore the body fat calc... it would be inaccurate. Accurate if hydration is up though and a particulary good diet performance measure. You can actually determine in which direction you are progressing... remember you can be a thin person and have too much body fat!!!
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