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TFS Review: Tanita’s IRONMAN Elite InnerScan Body Composition Monitor

Posted February 18th, 2007 at 12:00 PM by Adam Jacobs

Section: Gear & Apparel, Gadgets & Acces., Miscellaneous, Product Reviews, Special Features, TFS Reviews

Product: Tanita’s IRONMAN Elite InnerScan Monitor
Price: $129.99
Rating: Very Good 8.0/10.0
Pros: Surprisingly accurate; easy to use; memory for multiple users; sleek design; quick and convenient
Cons: A bit expensive for amateur athletes; results affected by fluctuation in body water levels
Overall: Considering the prohibitive expense of water displacement tests and the inaccurate results provided by most at-home options, Tanita’s IRONMAN Elite InnerScan is an excellent choice for athletes who want to monitor the effectiveness of their fitness and nutritional regimens.

Tanita’s IRONMAN Elite Series InnerScan is a high-performance body composition monitor. It uses Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA) to determine your body-fat percentage by transmitting a small electric current through your body(don’t worry, you won’t feel a thing) that measures the resistance of muscle and fat.

The InnerScan measures and calculates weight, percentage body fat, total body water (%), muscle mass, visceral fat (which can indicate Type-2 Diabetes and heart disease), metabolic age, physique rating, and Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). BMR is the amount of energy (aka calories) that your body needs to function properly at rest. This indicates the caloric intake that is required to support your body’s basic systems.

It runs on four “AA” batteries, has a maximum weight capacity of 330 Lb. (or 150 kg), measures weight in increments of 0.2 lb. (or 0.1 kg) and body fat in increments of 0.1%.

Effectiveness - 8.0 - Personal trainers and health specialists at Indiana University gave us a hand and compared the results of the InnerScan to Hydrostatic Weighing (aka Underwater Testing), which is considered the “gold standard” of body fat measurements, Lange skin-fold caliper measurements (what they probably offer at your local gym), and other “allegedly accurate” body fat monitors. They reported:

“Although not as accurate as the water displacement test, the InnerScan produced better results than the caliper measurements and were miles ahead of the other, at-home products.”

The InnerScan can also be an effective tool for those looking to lose weight or add lean muscle mass because it produces data that can serve as a far better indicator of progress than simple body weight.

However, users (especially women) should keep in mind that BIA will be affected by your body water levels. These levels naturally fluctuate depending on the time of day, illness, food, dehydrating products (i.e. caffeine, alcohol, some medications), etc. Therefore, for best results, use the monitor at a consistent time of day and approximately the same amount of time after meals. Results are also improved by stepping on the scale barefoot and after emptying your bladder.

Since menstruation cycles can have a significant impact on body water levels, Tanita recommends that women weigh themselves every day and at the same time for a month in order to properly understand the effects of their body cycles.

tanitas-ironman-innerscan-body-composition-monitor-2.jpg Design - 8.0 - The InnerScan has an easy-to-read 2.25” LCD display screen, large and responsive buttons, and a very sleek overall appearance. Although versatile and easy-to-use, we recommend that you spend some time with the manual in order to properly understand the different measurements and to take full advantage of it’s potential. The InnerScan succeeds in providing quick, at-home results and also stores data for up to four users.

Value - 8.0 - Although $130 may be a bit pricey for some amateur athletes and other beginners, the InnerScan is far less expensive in the long-run than most options for body composition measurement. Water displacement tests are prohibitively expensive for most people ($250-$400/test) and have to be frequently repeated in order to properly compare results. Caliper measurements will cost less for a single measurement ($50-$75/test), but also requires repetition and should be conduced by the same person for optimal results.

Therefore, if you want to take advantage of body composition data to help reach your fitness goals and can swing the $130, then Tanita’s IRONMAN Elite InnerScan is an excellent choice that will provide a superior, long-term value.

For more information on the InnerScan and other Tanita products, visit www.tanita.com or call 1-800-TANITA-8. If you would like more information on how the The Final Sprint conducted the review, please send an email to adam (at) thefinalsprint (dot) com.

Editor’s note - The overall rating was calculated by weighting Effectiveness as 70%, Design as 20% and Value as 10%.