Tanita works out the Ironman segmental body composition monitor

Getting the low-down on your body fat percentages can involve a scale, calipers, calculator, spreadsheet, and lots of math. Enter the Tanita Ironman Segmental and Full Body Composition monitor. This torture device comes with retractable hand-grip electrodes that measure each body quadrant's water, muscle mass, bone mass, BMR, visceral fat, metabolic age, and physique rating. Engadget Fitness Club (EFC) public service note: keep in mind that electrodes of this sort can be a bit inaccurate based on your water weight. Most fitness experts consider calipers to be the most accurate way to get body composition data even though they're a bear to use. That said, this could be a great long-term monitoring tool if the $299 price tag doesn't scare you off and Wii Fit just isn't doing it for you.

[Via ChipChick]

[Todd in Sonoma @ Jun 11th 2008 5:12PM]

Getting dunked in water is the most accurate way to measure body fat.

[Anthony @ Jun 11th 2008 5:16PM]

Agreed. Hydrostatic weighing is the only way for regular people to go as other options aren't as commonly available.

[ReductiMat @ Jun 11th 2008 5:33PM]

Actually, a DEXA scan is more accurate.

These Tanta jobbies are pure shit.

[James Bowe @ Jun 11th 2008 6:06PM]

The only dead-on balls accurate way to measure is autopsy. But that's clearly not practical. These things aren't at all accurate, but they are precise. So you can track your progress, even though you won't know the real percentage.

[LloydChiro @ Jun 11th 2008 7:15PM]

I've never heard of using DEXA for body fat analysis. Interesting.

[Jonathan Sundy @ Jun 11th 2008 11:15PM]

I had heard of the DEXA for bodyfat measurements and tried to get my GP to sign off on me needing one so insurance would pay for it, but he had never heard of it either... so I've got mixed signals on that. I also hear they're expensive ($500ish iirc) so a bit much to out of pocket.

I don't know where the author got the idea calipers are the most accurate method, but that's flagrantly false. They're more accurate than most of these scales, but only if done by a well trained professional, but even then they're very sensitive to not taking measurements in the exact same place each time yada yada.

Dexa and the underwater thingy are what I've heard are the most accurate.

Where do you go about getting the underwater test done and what do they cost?

[alleycat @ Jul 22nd 2008 12:11PM]

An autopsy is the only way to measure body fat. Please realize that no product available today can achieve absolute accuracy of body fat. Every method estimates body fat through non-invasive means. The "Gold Standards" of body fat measurement are Hydrostatic (underwater) weighing and DEXA (Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry). Independent studies have determined that the Tanita Body Fat Monitor/Scales have a high correlation with hydrostatic (underwater) method and DEXA.

Tanita Body Fat Monitors have great repeatability by providing accuracy to within 1% of itself. This means that once you have established your baseline body fat percentage, you can easily gauge if you have gained or lost body fat. This is valuable information which can be used to determine if your exercise and dietary program is effective.

[Anthony @ Jun 11th 2008 5:13PM]

Tanita's been trying this sort of thing for a while. I have one of their older models & the +/- error rate makes it sorta useless.

Example that doesn't even include how hydrated/dehydrated you are includes the general "athlete" v. "normal". Weighing myself on "athlete" I show something like 8% body fat. Going to normal bumps me up to 12%.

3% may not seem like a big difference but percentage wise it's pretty substantial.

Go to a sports physician, pay the money. If you aren't willing to do that they you don't need a 299 scale.

[Patrick @ Jun 11th 2008 10:25PM]

i've got a tanita scale at home and it does the same thing BUT while it may not be accurate, it is very precise.

after a work out i will measure myself 3 times. the weight is always +- 0.2 lbs and the body fat is always +- 0.5%.

i think the weight is quite accurate, as it's pretty much the same as the scale in the gym. you're right the body fat fluctuates all over the place. that's not to say it isn't usable data though. because the way it measures you is very dependent on how much water you have in your body, it will fluctuate from day to day or even hour to hour. the best way to use it is to chart your progress over time and ignore the minor daily fluctuations.

[kal326 @ Jun 11th 2008 5:27PM]

I wonder if there is enough space on the LCD to display "HOLY SHIT!" when most Americans step on this thing?

[Todd in Sonoma @ Jun 11th 2008 5:30PM]

North American or South American?

[Low Ranked @ Jun 11th 2008 6:48PM]

I think he meant the Anti-Americans.

[Phoenix @ Jun 11th 2008 10:53PM]

He means peoples in the United States of America who are, on the whole, overweight. (DAMN YOU McDONALDS!!!)

[Josh @ Jun 11th 2008 5:39PM]

So that's how Tony Stark did it...

[MacNewb @ Jun 11th 2008 6:11PM]

Misleading title... thought it was relevant to Tony Stark's Iron Man...

[BlowURmindBowel @ Jun 11th 2008 6:31PM]

I was also expecting some sort of articulated exoskeleton prototype...

[Josh L @ Jun 11th 2008 6:56PM]

@ James Browne:

There's always vivisection! Long live 19th century science!

[Adam @ Jun 11th 2008 7:07PM]

It doesn't matter what you body fat actually is - you know whether you look good and your clothes feel comfortable. You don't need this to tell you if you're too fat. However, if you take daily readings and then use rolling 7 day averages, you can figure out whether you're trending up or down with a scale like this and that can be helpful for people who are trying to lose fat or gain muscle, particularly if they are trying to adjust their exercise and diet to do so and need feedback.

[Andrew @ Jun 12th 2008 10:31AM]

These things have been around for years. They can be quite accurate if you follow their lengthy guidelines (no food/caffiene, exercise) before hand. Water weighing and cat scans are better though

[Attillia @ Jun 12th 2008 2:36PM]

Isn't this old news? I mean, this thing has been out for a very long time!

[Ernesto @ Jun 12th 2008 3:48PM]

There are many different ways to measure body fat that are considered accurate. The long standing gold standard has been hydrostatic weighing (under water), but it requires a good deal of expertise from both the practitioner and the subject. Body Calipers are also inherently plagued because of the high amount of human error possible. Most studies place calipers at +/- 6% of actual body fat. A somewhat new technology uses air displacement (Bod Pod - www.bodpod.com), which is more accurate but still depends on equations developed from multiple cadaver studies (as do the previous two methods).

Currently DEXA is the most accurate assessment of body fat. It has numerous advantages in that not only does it measure body fat, but also the location of fat and also bone mass and bone density. These are very important factors as they relate to cardiovascular disease risk and osteoporosis, respectively.

For the lay person, or the fitness novice, a bioelectirical impedence scale (Tanita) is a sufficient method of tracking weight loss and fat change without spending a lot of money.