I’ve seen some very bad reviews of Omron - their customer service has no idea what they’re talking about, and they keep repeating that the results are +/- 3%, but they can’t tell me how they arrived at this margin of error.
Ironman and Tanita appear to be working together now on scales/body fat analyzers. They have a new one called the Ironman Body Composition BC558. They’re making a lot of claims for it (including that it can distinguish between water and body fat, give you bone mass, and segmental fat, etc…), it’s features include:
Unlike the Omron products, it seems to have mostly very good reviews.
It would be really great to have something like this. Although it’s fairly expensive, I’d buy it if it really works.
Independent research at several major universities (including Columbia University in New York City) has confirmed that in clinical settings, the Tanita Body Fat Monitor is accurate within +/- 5 percentage points of the institutional standard - Dual Energy X-ray Aborptiometry (DEXA). (There is no 100% accurate method to measure exact percentage of body fat - other than an autopsy.) Tanita believes they have developed the most convenient method to accurately measure body composition; results are repeatable wthin +/- 1 percent variation when used under consistent conditions.