The InnerScan Body Composition Monitor by Tanita is much more than your average, run of the mill scale. This sleek-looking scale uses state-of-the-art technology to give you the skinny on more than just your body weight -- it provides a safe, simple and easy way to calculate your body fat percentage and so much more.

Excess body fat can contribute to a host of medical conditions, such as hypertension, heart disease and diabetes. Many experts feel that your fat content, rather than your body weight, is a better indication of your physical well-being. Monitoring changes in both body fat and weight ensures a more accurate picture of overall health. Since it can distinguish between body fat and lean body mass, the InnerScan can determine how much of your weight is fat and how much is muscle. All you do is step on the scale and it does the rest.

The key to this scale is known as BIA (Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis), a method that is gaining wide support by medical and fitness experts alike. BIA uses a safe, low-level electrical signal that passes through your body when you step on the scale. As the current encounters different kinds of fluids and tissues, it can distinguish between body fat and lean body mass or muscle.

This unit not only monitors your body fat -- it also calculates the amount of visceral fat (level of fat surrounding vital organs in the trunk/stomach area), muscle mass, bone mass and total body water percentage so you can monitor water levels and compensate for weight fluctuations. Additionally, it provides a physique rating (according to the ratio of your body fat and muscle mass), determines your metabolic age and estimates how many calories you can consume within the next 24 hours to maintain your current weight.

Powered by a 10-year lithium battery, the scale is set up with a four-person memory plus one guest and a "weight only" button in case you want to bypass the other data for the day. We found the daily weigh-ins and body data to be a good motivation tool to lose fat and improve the other scores. We feel that the InnerScan Body Composition Monitor is a fun and innovative way to learn more about and improve your body.


Pros: High-tech look, accurately measures weight and body composition, equipped with an "athlete mode," calculates numerous valuable percentages; four-person memory with one guest, weight-only button, convenient "toe tap" buttons, 10-year lithium battery, guide alone is a valuable tool
Cons: Body composition feature not suitable for professional athletes, body builders, pregnant women or people with a pacemaker or other electronic implanted medical device; need to memorize the function for each button used to access body composition data; calculations for total daily caloric intake seem a bit high

Warranty
10 year, limited