Customer Reviews:
 Be wary about using your Tanita in a bathroom. May 22, 2008
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
Be wary of Tanita and their warranty claims. The product itself was decent, and fairly accurate, however Tanita is not a company that prides itself in customer service and product support. I used my scale in a normal bathroom environment, and after just 3 months you could see evaporation underneath the screen. I don't know if a gasket had a crack in it, or what the issue might have been, but the unit couldn't withstand the normal humidity of a bathroom. In fact, the unit was a good 20 feet from any active water, like a shower and tub.
I shipped the unit in, and without even so much as a courtesy call, the "customer service manager" returned my unit with a note that my warranty claim was refused, even though I had spoken to someone before about the issue, and said it would be replaced no problem. The customer service manager was nice enough, but said that even though it was well within the boundaries of his discretion, he was going to refuse the claim, because they refuse all like claims regarding evaporation. He even admitted that it happens fairly often.
Stay away.
His recommendation? Buy another Tanita, and not place it in the bathroom. Right.
 people over 50 need not apply March 26, 2008
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
I just got my scale and tried it out, and I have to say it really makes me mad that the designers of this scale see no reason to give anyone over 50 a metabolic age rating. To them, I guess a 50-year-old and a 90-year-old are both over the hill, so why bother making distinctions?
I spent the extra money primarily because this scale has been reported as being very accurate (repeatable) in the weight measurement, but since I spent so much money on the other features, I expect to receive them. I'm 60. As far as I can tell, I could be 10 years healthier than average, or 10 years less healthy than average, and I was looking forward to seeing what the scale said. But now I'll never know. I'm not sure if I'm more unhappy because I didn't get the information I expected, or because I feel that I've been treated with contempt because I'm at an age where they feel we can just all be lumped together. Either way, I'm disappointed.
 Works great.... February 23, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Works great. It's a lot of fun to use. I haven't lost any weight since owning it, however. Oh yeah, if you buy this, you will need at least a modicrum of intelligence because body fat and hydration are inversely related. If you do not get this, then you will be mislead by the readings you get from the scale. Still, it totally beats going to the gym and having someone pinch your fat with calipers in front of God and everyone else there! So glad I will never have to do that because I have this nice scale.
MISSING MANUAL January 8, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I am sure once i figure out how it works, it will be fine. the problem the items ships with out a maunual. emails to yahoo resulted in them telling me to look in the manual for the manufacture to then ask for the maunual. maybe it was the night shift.
Very useful December 8, 2007
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
The only method to measure body fat reliably is hydrodensitometry weighing. However, there exist two kinds of accurate devices that are capable to estimate this measure and offer reliable results, bioimpedence and skinfold calipers. In order for them to provide with repeatable and dependable measurements, skinfold calipers ought to be used by professionals while bioimpedenzometric scales do not.
The science behind the Tanita BC533 scale is bioimpedence, which allows for a body composition estimate by sending a brief pulse of low voltage electricity through your body. The electricity that leaves your body at your feet is then read by the scale and your body composition is calculated and displayed for your convenience.
Because the estimate is done through electricity everything impacting on electricity and its conduction also has an impact on the results you get. For this reason, you need not to use the scale while your feet and/or your body are wearing isolating materials (shoes - especially plastic, and socks and sweaters - especially in wool), when your skin is wet (ie: after a bath or shower, when you have recently sweat), and when you have eaten or drank in the previous 3 hours. On top of that, because of circadian hormonal rhythms, weight changes within the day. My suggestion is to pick up a time of the day and stick with it. For even more dependable measurements, use the scale in the same conditions every day so that you can compare successive measurements and hopefully track your progresses.
This scale isn't any more difficult to use than other bioimpedenzometric device is, but you need to know the technology and its limitations in order to exploit it to your own advantage.
Pros: it looks stylish, it's very dependable
Cons: it needs to be set up, it requires a flat surface
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