The Bottom Line: If you are interested in monitoring body fat percentage as part of your overall health plan, then this device will aid in that endeavor.
charlesj68's Full Review: Omron Body Fat Analyzer HBF306
I start this review with a fair bit of background information. If you are just here for the review then jump forward to the heading: “The Review”!
Background
When you live a largely sedentary lifestyle, managing your weight can be a significant issue. One can witness this all around us in the United States as our jobs have become much less labor intensive, but our diets have become more fatty. Recent reports have come out claiming that as many as a third of all Americans may be obese, as determined by Body Mass Index. These facts have spawned whole industries dedicated to the idea of reducing our weights.
However, losing weight can be a tricky thing. As a co-worker once said, “If you want to lose 12 pounds really fast, just cut off your head. The side-effects are a little inconvenient however.” One finds various rubs, drugs, diets and machines marketed to consumers wanting to lower their weight and trim their bodies. But, what is safe?
Measuring Body Fat
Fat is good. You need fat around your internal organs, and in your tissues to provide all sorts of important functions. Problems arise when you have excess fat in your body. How much is too much? As in so many things the answer is, “That depends.”
In general, women will have more than men will. That is part of what makes the female form curvy versus the more straight-up-and-down masculine figure. In addition, an individual’s body composition will vary, as they age. One can find guidelines on the web that will help you determine what you should aim for.
Why Did I Get the HBF-306?
I wanted the body fat device because I am an atypical specimen of humanity. No, really! Going by the old height and weight charts, I should weigh about 180 pounds. In reality, I passed that weight some time in high school, and have never returned. Even when I was strenuously training on my bicycle (averaging 20 miles-an-hour over 10 to 15 miles, every day of the week), 198 marked the best I could achieve.
Along came the Body Mass Index (BMI) system. This purports to be a better way of ranking your weight. Still it said that I should be 188 pounds in order to get within the upper limit of the “normal” range. When the best you can do still leaves you ten pounds out of range, you begin to have doubts.
Therefore, I resolved to manage my health by actual measurement, not some chart based on a random sampling of the population. Thankfully, modern technology has provided the means to get actual measurements of body composition.
The Review
The Omron HBF-306 measures body fat content through an electric current. The essential fact that makes this device work is that fat conducts electricity at a different rate then muscle and other tissue. The design of the technology in the HBF-306 passes a very tiny electric current through your body to determine the relative proportions of fat to muscle. Then the computer in the device can convert that information into a body fat percentage. In addition, it produces other information, as we will see.
The device itself consists of a lightweight plastic case, beige in color with four metal pads, two each on each of two handles projecting from the sides of the body. In the center of the body sits a large LCD display and five buttons for control.
The HBF-306 came with a warranty registration card, a manual, a book on dietary health and two AA batteries to power the unit.
The unit can store the height, weight, age and sex profiles for nine people. In addition, there is a “guest” slot for when you want to show off your cool new toy to your friends!
In use, you first create your profile by choosing a number to represent you. Then you input your height, weight, age and gender. Then you press the Start button and hold the unit out in front of you. A couple seconds go by while unit does its calculating and it gives you feedback about its progress through a little four-segment progress bar on the bottom of the display. Finally, it pops back both your body fat percentage and your BMI. Future uses do not require the entering of the height, weight, age and gender data, just the selection of your identification number.
Notes on usage
Other users of these electrical body fat measurement devices have reported wild fluctuations in the reported results. While it is certainly possible that they had defective units, it is important to remember that your behavior can significantly affect the readings you get. For instance, immediately after a heavy workout or a bath you have a thin layer of water on the surface of your skin. This layer will change the conductivity of your body and therefore change the reading that the device would produce. Likewise, if you have been drinking lots of liquids in the hours preceding the measurement, then you will have a significant chunk of the your body weight wrapped up in that liquid, which will affect the reading.
The best way to use this device is to set a specific time each day in which you take your reading. For me, that is first thing in the morning. By making the measurement a routine part of the morning ritual, I have not seen the wild fluctuations others have reported. The most significant swing has been just slightly more than a 2% change.
Why Not a Scale?
There are body fat analyzers built into floor scales. I considered these at first, but they were more expensive and they could store fewer personal profiles. This was important to me since I have two young girls that will someday be young ladies, target by merchandisers the world over with unrealistic body images. I hope to teach them that you base your health on your own body’s capabilities, not a comparison with someone else’s body. Therefore, I wanted the device to be able to handle more than just a couple profiles.
In Short
I am very pleased. The unit gives me readings that are fast and seem accurate. It is trivial to use, an important benefit given that I am using it in the bleary-eyed fog of early morning. Most important, I now have a measurement with which to monitor my weight in a healthy and consistent way.
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