TANITA TBF-604 BODY FAT MONITOR/SCALE

Principles of body fat percentage measurement

Tanita’s patented “foot-pad” design sends a safe, low-level electrical signal through the body to determine its composition.

Body Fat %

22

21

20

19

18

17

6 am

10 am

2 pm

6 pm

10 pm Time

Daily fluctuations in body fat percentage based

on the BIA method

2

The Tanita Body Fat Monitor/Scale TBF-604 allows you to estimate your body fat percentage at home as easily as you measure your weight.

What is body fat percentage?

Body fat percentage is the percentage of fat in your body. Until now, your absolute weight has determined whether or not you were considered overweight or obese. In recent years, the definition of obesity has been refined to mean the presence of excess body fat. Too much body fat has been linked to conditions such as high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and other disabling conditions.

Body Fat Ranges for Standard Adults1, 2

 

 

 

Underfat

 

 

Healthy

Overfat

 

Obese

Female 20–39

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Age 40–59

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

60–79

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

0%

10%

20%

30%

 

 

40%

Male 20–39

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Age 40–59

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

60–79

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Underfat

Healthy

Overfat

 

Obese

 

 

1Based on NIH/WHO BMI Guidelines.

2As reported by Gallagher, et al., at NY Obesity Research Center.

To determine the percentage of body fat that is appropriate for your body, consult your physician.

The BIA method

The TBF-604 uses the BIA (Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis) technique. In this method, a safe low-level electrical signal is passed through the body. It is difficult for the signal to flow through fat in the human body, but easy to flow through moisture in the muscle and other body tissues. The difficulty with which a signal flows through a substance is called impedance. So the amount of fat in the body can be accurately estimated by measuring the impedance. The signal used is very low, making it safe and imperceptible.

The illustration on the left show how the signal travels through the body.

Body fat percentage fluctuations in a day

Hydration levels in the body may affect body fat readings. Readings are usually highest in the early waking hours, since the body tends to be dehydrated after a long night’s sleep. For the most accurate reading, a person should take a body fat percentage reading at a consistent time of day under consistent conditions.

Besides this basic cycle of fluctuations in the daily body fat readings, variations may be caused by hydration changes in the body due to eating, drinking, menstruation, illness, exercising, and bathing. Daily body fat readings are unique to each person, and depend upon one’s lifestyle, job and activities.

The graph on the left shows an example of daily body fat percentage fluctuations.

Advantages of the Tanita TBF-604

Previously, body fat percentage was determined by measuring the thickness of subcutaneous fat by pinching it with calipers, or by laying a person on a scanning bed and passing a current from hand to foot. However, these methods had problems; measurement values varied, professional skills were required, and extensive time was required for measurement. Currently, the standard methods of fat percentage measurement are DEXA (dual energy x-ray absorptiometry) and Hydrodensitometry (underwater weigh- ing).

Based on data from both the DEXA and underwater weighing methods, Tanita established a formula for estimating the percentage of body fat. There is a high correlation between measurements taken with the TBF-604 and those obtained through DEXA and underwater weighing.