Omron HBF-400 Body Fat Monitor and Scale
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 List Price: $59.99 Sale Price: $39.55 Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Eligible For Free Shipping 
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Product Description
Easy To Read Large Digital Display
Weight, Body Fat% and BMI In Seconds
4 Personal Profiles with Previous Measurements Results
1 Scale For The Whole Family
Weight Capacity Up To 330 lbs.
Batteries Included
Contents:
1 Fat Loss Monitor with scale
4 "AA" Batteries
1 Instruction Manual
Measure the result of your Weight Loss Program
Lose the "right" weight, Fat not Muscle
What is most important about Weight?
It's very important to lose excess body fat as opposed to muscle mass. Lean muscle is needed for your body to function well... look your best and avoid health risks. The Omron Fat Loss Monitor with Scale gives you the ability to track the fat you are losing.
Accurate body fat calculations using Bioelectrical Impedance Technology
Body fat and muscle tissue have different levels of electrical conductivity. The Fat Loss Monitor with Scale sends a safe, low-level electrical current through you body to calculate the amount of body fat tissue. This is known as the Bioelectrical Impedance (BI) Method. Your body fat percentage is automatically calculated using the body fat tissue amount, you height, weight, age and gender information. Omron provides you with the accurate and reliable information you need to help measure your progress in achieving your health and fitness goals.
Model: HBF-400
Weight: 0 to 330lbs., with 0.2lb increments
Body fat percentage: 5.0 to 60.0% with 0.1% increments
BMI: 7.0 to 90.0 with 0.1 increments
Body fat percentage / BMI classification: - (Low) / 0 (Normal) / + (High) / ++ (Very High) with 12 levels of bar display
Set ranges:
Height: 3'4" to 6' 3/4"
Age: 10 to 80 years old
Gender: Male / Female
Power Supply: 4 AA batteries
Battery life: Approximately 1 year (when used four times a day)
Operating temperature and humidity: 50°F to 104°F, 30% to 85% RH
Storage temperature and humidity: -4°F to 140°F, 10% to 95% RH
Details
- Provides accurate measurement of weight, body fat percentage, and body mass index (BMI)
- Supports up to four personal profiles, so each member of your family can track their own measurements
- BMI classified at three levels: underweight, normal, overweight, and obese
- Provides measurements for people of nearly all heights (3'4" to 6' 6-3/4") and nearly all ages (10 to 79 years)
- Measures 12.2 x 11.8 x 2.1 inches (L x W x H)
{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
Rating
I compared this body fat monitor to similar ones from Tanita. You are definately getting more for your money here. It stores up to 4 users where the Tanita models only store 2 and compares function for function elsewhere at a lower price point. Not to mention that this scale just feels like better quality when you pick it up. I bought one with one of the Omron Pedometers to take advantage of the instant rebate on Amazon. (I haven’t seen an event on Tanita on Amazon for a while.) The pedometer was the #1 rated in CR. They are both top notch products.
Rating
I recently started Weight Watchers and was looking to purchase a new and accurate scale. I figured I would buy a WW product, but after reading the reviews, I decided to go with the Omron scale. I am very pleased with this product. It has been extremely accurate. It keeps a history for both my husband and I. I would highly recommend this scale to anyone! It is also an attractive scale which is a bonus. Go with the Omron scale!
Rating
I originally ordered a Tanita scale and it stopped working within two weeks. (Amazon, of course, took it back with no problems.) I was so glad when the Omron scale arrived. It costs less than the Tanita but the quality is much higher. The numbers on it are very large and easy to read. Also, it is much easier to place your feet properly than on the Tanita. I can’t wait to try all the features. By the way, I weighed myself over and over and my weight only varied .2 lbs. as promised. Great deal for the money!!!
Rating
I order all kinds of items online and have done so for years. But when it comes to some items, I usually prefer to see it firsthand before ordering. I couldn’t do that with this scale, but it turned out better than I’d hoped!
The picture doesn’t really show you how well this scale is made. Although the top is primarily plastic, there is so little flex that you’d think the whole thing is metal. The display is high contrast and the digits and icons large making it easy to read even at my height of 6′1″. My favorite part of the construction is that the feet “float” slightly allowing the scale to adapt to surfaces that may be a little uneven. That’s always been a problem for me on vinyl, tile, or hardwood floors where slight variations occur. Also, the power button on the front (as you walk up to it) toggles the unit on and off. Nice for saving battery life instead of having to rely on an Auto-Off feature (which it will do after 10 minutes of inactivity). The manual states that you’ll get about 12 months on one set of batteries (4 x AA) taking four readings a day.
Having memories for 4 people as well as a “guest” reading is great, too. The unit keeps only the last reading, but if you’re tracking that information and don’t have time to jot it down at a weigh-in, you can always come back later, turn it on, and pull up your profile’s most recent data.
The BMI and body fat percentage readouts are simple to understand and a bar graph accompanies the BMI to give you at-a-glance feedback where you’re at generally, i.e., Under, Normal, Over, etc. on your BMI. This is based on your providing your gender, height (in 1/4 inch increments) and age.
The manual is well written and in English only. It gives a good overview of how the BMI is calculated and what Omron did to come up with the table references that it uses internally to generate that value.
Overall, I am extremely pleased with this scale and highly recommend it for anyone who wants an accurate, repeatable (same readings with little to no variation when taken one after the other) and informative digital scale.
Rating
As a scale the Omron HBF-500 is excellent. It is consistent, in tests with my wife and I (who are more than 100 pounds different in weight) the scale gave the same weight each of 5 times in a row that we stepped on it. So it is consistent. I am a nurse and weighed myself on our calibrated scales and found that this scale weighed me 0.5 pounds heavier than the hospital one, which can be explained by the glass of water I drank when I got home. So it is both consistent and accurate.
So what about the body fat monitor: As to the accuracy of the monitor I cannot speak. However, it is very consistent, much more consistent than the experience that I have had with the handheld-only monitors from Omron. The scale will calculate your percent body fat & your percent skeletal muscle. It will also give you a reading of your visceral body fat, which is a better indicator of your health risk associated with body fat (visceral body fat is the fat which is inside your body surrounding your organs, which subcutaneous fat is the fat that we all see just under our skin). Using these calculations and the user-defined height, weight, and age data that you enter, it will give you your resting metabolic energy needs for the day to give you an idea of how much you should be eating to lose weight in a healthy manner.
The scale has 4 user profiles so that 4 different users can use the scale and track their data. Data can be recalled letting you know what your measurements were yesterday, a week ago, a month ago, and 3 months ago.
The handle fits well inside the front of the scale. I was expecting the scale to be bulkier than it is. It is just a little taller than a normal scale and very attractive. It isn’t something that you’re going to need to hide between uses. Just put it where any normal bathroom scale would fit.
The scale is a little bit difficult to use if you haven’t read the instruction manual. The good news is that the manual is very easy to use and very informative. Plan on 5-10 minutes of reading time when your scale first arrives. You will be glad that you learned all about what your new scale does. After skimming the manual, my wife and I are both able to operate the scale and use all of its functionality.
Price-wise, this seems like an excellent value. The cost of a high-quality scale added to the price of a decent Body-fat monitor (which won’t give you the more detailed body composition detail of this hands-and-feet monitor) will be more than the price of this one unit. Also, this unit keeps all of your data in one location. So for the price, this unit was a no-brainer for me when it was time to buy a new scale after my old one stopped being consistent and accurate.
Highly recommended.
Rating
We have been using an old-fashioned medical scale for a few years. While it’s a great device and very accurate, it requires constant rebalancing, it takes up considerable space and cannot be easily moved. Enter this gem from Omron. It works great out of the box, it rebalances itself in <5 seconds, and also provides the extra benefit of B.M.I. calculation. I found this very useful (well, actually kind of sobering…). This is an excellent scale — great price, too. (I have the Omron pedometer, too. Also 5 stars).
Rating
I got this scale to replace my previous digital scale which was hard to work. This one is super easy, can be turned on and off with your toe! The body fat feature seems fairly accurate though does vary somewhat from day to day. The weight feature is right on and matches my doctor’s office scales so no more five pound jump in weight when I see the doctor! You can get on and off this scale three times in a row and your weight does not fluctuate as with some scales. This scale feels sturdy and not flimsy (like the one I got rid of).
Rating
but guess that my body fat (BFI) and body mass (BMI) index readings are a wake up call to lower! This scale is solidly built, easy to read, and simple to operate. The “metal colored plastic” is extensive, but does not detract from the scale’s aesthetics. Getting the scale to display your weight only is simple. However, getting it to display your BFI and BMI are a little more daunting, but simple when you get the hang of it. The controls (on-off) and the logic of the readings are very intuitive. I use my feet to easily turn it on and off and select weight-only or body fat index. No need to bend down or get on the floor! As for accuracy, I can’t totally weigh in (bad pun). Did note that the BFI and BMI readings were fairly close to those measured in a recent doctor visit, which is why I bought this scale in the first place. One last positive: the scale takes four AA batteries (included), which is much better than lithium, since AA’s are cheaper and more readily available. All in all, an economical start toward monitoring a shape-up, weight loss program.
Rating
Finally I am able to see a true representation of what is happening when I am trying to lose weight/fat and incorporating a workout program. I love the memory function so I can track my progress. The visceral fat feature is VERY important is this is the most dangerous fat and most scales do not have this feature. I highly recommend it and for a great price. It looks great as well.
Rating
I purchased two of these HBF-500 from Amazon, one for myself, another as a gift. I exercise a lot and use it to track my progress. The results are VERY stable in the sense that my weight, %fat, etc are very consistent from measurement to measurement. I really like it.
I do question the accuracy because there is no supporting information about this on the company website or product literature. One thing I do notice is that, using the Omron 300 body fat analyzer at my health club, I consistently get 15% body fat (very low). On my HBF-500, I consistently get 23% (average to high). I am sure this is because the HBF-500 uses resistance throughout my whole body (belly fat, etc) whereas the model 300 only does the upper torso (more lean). When people look at me, they tell me I am very lean and fit. So, which reading is correct? I think, the relative values are probably accurate – that is, change in readings over time, rather than actual value of any individual reading.
Rating
The HBF-400 has a stylish, modern appeal and the fit & finish details inspire confidence in a machine that is every bit as good as it looks. I recently had my body fat percentage tested at a health fair and the results were the same as the Omron’s. (As others have pointed out, it takes a few minutes to set up – but the procedure is straightforward, provided you take it step-by-step and don’t try to get ahead of the instructions.) The weight registered seems to match my Health-o-Meter scale, but is a lot more consistent. It isn’t perfect – if I place my feet 1 inch off-center or if I shift my weight toward my heels or toes, it may register a different reading. However, if I take the effort to weigh myself the same way each time, the readings seem to be reliable. Highly recommended.
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EDIT: 3 years later and the Omron HBF-400 is still working like a charm. It’s survived the usual household treatment of being occasionally kicked around, especially by my six year old boy, and it still looks and works like brand new. Very happy with its quality and performance.
Rating
If you are willing to spend a few minutes with the manual, and are interested in healthy weight loss, then this is a great product. This scale will measure body fat and skeletal muscle. This is important because unhealthy weight loss can be accomplished at the expence of muscle and often leads to quick regain of the weight with more fat than you originally started with. The scale does not give 100% accurate measure of body fat or skeletal muscle BUT the readings are consistant if you do them at the start of each day. This means you can see if you are loosing fat (yeah!)or muscle (boo!) over time. Don’t trust any one measurement as it will vary based on fluid intake and other factors. It is better to get an average over several days to see your present level. I am tracking my progress carefully and though I am loosing weight slower, I am actually loosing fat at the same time I am gaining muscle. If I had a regular scale I might assume I wasn’t loosing much weight at all and restricted my calories too much or over exercised. Oh yeah, the scale works great also.
Rating
After searching (and buying) several digital scales, this it the only one in my price range that weighs the same if you step on it two or three times in a row. I work in a hospital and the scales at work match the weight on this scale. It is great, I love and would recommended it to anyone.
Rating
Not really sure how to review this one, as it’s just a scale/body fat monitor.
It’s really simple to use. You power it on, wait for it to start and then press the user button to choose which user you are. This scale gives the option to have up to 4 people keep track of their weight and body mass index.
In order for the scale to work you must be barefoot (preferably naked given your clothes add weight). It seems to give an accurate reading, more accurate than the standard dial kind of scale, and is much easier to read.
Just make sure you know your height prior to inputting your information as you need to have an accurate height input in order to get an accurate body mass index reading.
Worth the money if you want to watch your weight.
Rating
If I’m a 200 pound guy with 15% body fat (like Tyson was at his peak) should I be concerned about losing weight? Of course not. But if I’m dieting, losing weight, and I notice that my skeletal muscle percentage is dropping–which means I’m probably losing bone mass as well–then I have cause to worry.
Actually, when I was a national competitor in full-contact kickboxing back in the mid-90s, I weighed about 165 lbs and my body fat percentage was a near unhealthy 10%. While other fighters were eating salad, I was encouraged to eat cheeseburgers and fries because my coach and teammates were worried that I had become too lean. According to the BMI chart, I was only 10 lbs below my ideal weight, but the fact was I really needed get myself up to a healthy 185lbs.
Now I’m well above that ideal number, and 40 years old, yet still don’t need to lose weight. I need to lose fat, and particularly visceral fat–which this scale offers the unique feature of measuring.
As far as knowing the amount of water in my body (something a lot of high end scales measure), why should I care about that? If I’m dehydrated I’ll be thirsty; if I’m overhydrated I’ll probably faint from the high blood pressure; in other words, I’ve got all the indicators I need by nature with regard to how much water I need in my body.
Displaying the history for 1, 7, 30, and 90 days is a great feature so I can track if I’ve lost fat or not, or if I’ve lost a disproportionate amount of weight to fat ratio and should change my strategy or habits.
The manual that comes with this scale is extremely educational and could really almost stand alone as an informative and conscise manual on weight management.
SOME INTERESTING OBSERVATIONS:
1. After getting really drunk one night, the next morning I weighed a good 20lbs less and lost about 3% or 4% of my body fat. This was a false reading of course because I was severely dehydrated and still had alcohol in my blood from the night before–not that I wasn’t a bit gitty at seeing the numbers.
2. My weight regardless of when I measure it is fairly consistent–so the scale is accurate–but it’s true what the manual tells you about best times to weigh yourself. If I weigh myself immediately after getting home from work, I’m down 1 point on visceral fat and show 3% less body fat than if I weigh myself just before going to bed–long after dinner–and just upon waking up in the morning. I haven’t tried it immediately after intense exercise (such as cycling 30 miles), but imagine the effect is pretty much the same.
BOTTOM LINE: If you’re goal is really just to lose weight, you don’t need this scale. But if you want to lose fat and know to what degree you’re really killing yourself with visceral fat that you should concentrate on losing, then this is exactly what you want.
The manual is also outstanding, and at this price getting such an outstanding item that’s so well thought out, designed, and constructed is a no brainer of a deal.
Forget Tanita. OMRON has been making better and more numerous diagnostic machines that are all around better, without the overinflated pricetag.