Omron HBF-306C Fat Loss Monitor Reviews

• Warning

  
  By AGXNJ68F8Q1UX on 2007-03-09
  These types of body fat analyzers, tend to overestimate % body fat in lean people, underestimate in obese populations, and the equations it uses to calculate body fat are for specific populations. Do not confuse the consistency of the readings with accuracy. As well as the previously listed problems, these hand to hand body fat monitors only measure through the shortest path so the best case scenario is that you are getting a measure of your upper body's body fat extrapolated over your entire body. Foot to foot monitors share a similar problem. If you have the opportunity to see a professional at a gym, or fitness club, and have them assess your body fat with skinfolds that is a much better alternative than relying on these monitors. Also a health professional will be able to share more details on why these monitors are not worth the money you pay for them.
  
  

• Great body fat analyzer

  
  By A1ZJS9MUV37LDG on 2006-08-05
  This is a great hand held body fat analyzer. Very accurate, consistent readings and very user friendly. It takes about one minute to set up the personal information that it needs and takes a few seconds to get the body fat readings, very fast.
  
  I was a little worried about buying this item because the lack of reviews but did notice another Omron HBF-306 fat Analyzer that had alot reviews. I don't know why this item doesn't have as many reviews as the other Omron HBF-306 fat Analyzer, when it is the exact same product, plus what made me buy this one instead of the other is it's cheaper and free shipping. So overall great product for the price.
  
  

• More Accurate than my Other Scales

  
  By A3V6Z4RCDGRC44 on 2008-03-14
  If you're trying to maintain a healthy weight - or reach one - then a fat monitor can be key. Being 150 pounds and 50% fat is much different than being 150 pounds at 20% fat!
  
  If you haven't used an electronic fat monitor before, here is how they work. You enter your height and weight. This gives the monitor a rough idea of how long an electrical current should take to go in one end of you and out the other. Then you hold two plates in your hands, and it sends a quick electrical message in one hand and out the other. It doesn't hurt at all - you can't feel it at all. But by tracking the speed of the signal, the monitor knows how dense your body is. That tells it what percentage of you is fat, and what percentage is other stuff (muscle, water, etc.)
  
  How is this helpful? Well, your aim as you lose weight is to be less and less fat. Fat is large, unhealthy and bulky. Muscle is slim and actively burns calories. Don't think of gaining muscle as bulking up like Conan. Think of it as gaining lean active muscle like a ballerina or a dancer. It means you can climb stairs more easily, lift items more easily, and your overall shape will be much slimmer.
  
  So, how well does this Ormon monitor work? We've tried it out with many people now. It stores up to 9 settings inside it, and it's really easy for a guest to instantly use it as well. You just enter your height, weight and age. It instantly knows your BMI based on that since BMI is just weight and height. Then you hold the two sides for a few moments and it tells you your body fat as well. Quick, easy, painless. We use this several times a day, just to play with it and see the progress we're making.
  
  There are many times when you're losing weight that it seems you "aren't losing weight". But really, you are converting from fat to muscle and fat is thick and light while muscle is thin and heavy. So for example you might go from a 38" waist to a 34" waist and still "weigh the same". This is good overall, because you are slimmer, healthier, and it means that going forward it'll be even easier for you to lose the remaining weight! So seeing that progression with your body fat can be very encouraging.
  
  Highly recommended!
  
  

• Great Overall Gauge At A Good Price

  
  By A2VSEUA2WWTPC6 on 2007-01-09
  I highly recommend the Omron fat loss monitor for anybody who is serious about monitoring their body fat.
  
  Why I Recommend It:
  1. EASY to use. It's almost dummy-proof
  2. Inexpensive. For less than $26 you can have it delivered (Super-Saver shipping) including batteries.
  3. I don't need help to use it. I don't know of any other method that you can do in the privacy of your home each and every day with the exception of calipers. And you need somebody else to use the calipers on you. Since they're only accurate if that person knows what he/she is doing and measures you in the exact same place each time, I think it's just easy to get a monitor.
  4. Quick. I can take a measurement in about 10 seconds.
  
  General Thoughts/Suggestions:
  1. The instruction manual mentions this also but... Make sure to take the measurement at the same time each day. I take my measurements right before I leave the house for work before I've eaten or drank anything for the day.
  2. Don't expect the results to be perfect. If the measurement tells you that you're 16% body fat, that's probably pretty close to what you actually are. But depending on how much water you've had to drink, how recently you've exercised, how recently you've eaten, etc., the reading could go up to 17% or down to 15%. It's best to be consistent with when you take your measurements and to use the monitor as a guide to tell you if you're gaining or losing. I think of it as a fat loss compass... not a fat loss GPS.
  3. Make sure that you keep your stats updated in the computer memory. I'm on a fat loss routine right now. I've lost 15 lbs since I began using the Omron monitor. It only takes a second to update your personal stats in the monitor's memory. But you need to do it. Otherwise it'll give you an inaccurate reading.
  
  All in all, I'd say this is a great investment. Yes, you can lose body fat without using a monitor. But it is also possible to lose weight without losing body fat (i.e. water weight or muscle). I'm constantly tweaking my diet and workout routine to keep that percentage dropping. Without the monitor I'd be in the dark and I'm confident that I wouldn't have seen the progress that I've seen thus far.
  
  Good luck & good health!
  
  
  

• Good Basic Product

  
  By A37N8VL0COIUVH on 2007-02-20
  As a personal trainer I was interested to see how this product worked. I had read about them quite a bit. I have to say it is actually pretty accurate. It is not a dead on read but it is close and it is very user friendly. Just keep in mind that you want to try and use it at the same time of day every time for the most consistent reading. Overall a good product that is worth the money.
  
  
• The Omrom HBF-306C: A True Story of Fat Loss Monitoring
  By A23L3W8J1G3USG on 2008-01-21
  Once upon a time...I bought this thing to mess around with because I don't like having to ask the people at the gym if I can borrow theirs. And mostly I was curious how the thing worked (What happens if you say you're 35 instead of 31? What if you say you're 5'11" instead of 5'10 1/4"? What if you don't weigh yourself on the day that you test your body fat? What if you drink a glass of water right before you measure things?).
  
  Turns out these variables matter a lot. A glass of water can add an additional 1 percentage point of body fat to your reading. Age adds body fat. Weight adds body fat. I forgot what height adds.
  
  This thing works well, it's easy to use, and I enjoy seeing how much "fatter" you can get by chugging a lot of water right after you test yourself for a first time to establish a baseline. You can have contests with your friends to see who can become "fatter." I was undefeated in 2007 and won $625 competing throughout the year. No one else in my league won more money.
  
  The only thing I don't like is that there's an "Athlete" setting and a "Normal" setting, and you have to figure out which one you are before you can measure yourself. They give you a formula to figure out which one you are, but I'm always on the cusp of both, and my workouts are always changing anyway. If you choose "Athlete," you're graded as fatter. If you choose "Normal," the computer thinks your thinner. The difference is about 1 percentage point.
  
  You can also measure the body fat of other living creatures by hugging them while you measure your own body fat. You have to measure yourself separately too so that you can subtract yourself from the equation at the end. My dog, for example, is 7% body fat. I've got her on a treadmill right now. She wants to check in at 4% by bikini season.
  
  YOU CANNOT MEASURE THE FAT CONTENT OF A PIZZA, NO MATTER HOW HARD YOU IMPALE THE PIZZA WITH THE FAT MONITOR'S HANDLES! Pizzas are made of meat and fat and dough, but the Omron is designed to send and capture electrical impulses through meat, fat, and bone. It doesn't know what to make of the dough. You won't get a reliable reading.
  
  I totally recommend this thing if you likes gadgets. I have a breathalyzer too. I recommend that. I also recommend that new movie "There Will Be Blood." Daniel Day-Lewis is in it. He plays an oil guy back in the early 1900s. I only saw the first 30 minutes of it because I had bought a ticket to another movie and I was waiting for it to start, but it was really good, the part I saw. I also recommend that you visit the dentist at least twice a year, and that you start flossing at least two weeks before your appointment so that they can't tell that you haven't been flossing all along. If you only start flossing a day or two before, your gums will be swollen, and they'll know that you haven't been doing it.
  
  THE END
  
  
  
• Great Product!
  By A2KRDC1YXWMR4J on 2006-11-09
  Unbeatable for the price! Worked fine right out of the box. Easy to use and easy to understand instructions. I'm glad I bought it.
  
  
• Works well, too many clicks
  By A2WZJWGIF9GIJX on 2007-01-16
  Years ago, I bought a fat monitoring scale, and am thrilled with the idea of seeing what my body fat percentage is. Traveling was a problem because the scale was too cumbersome to take with me. This device fits easily into luggage, and as long as my destination includes a scale, I'm set. The only problem I have with the device is in the number of clicks for a single use. 1 Turn device on. 2 Tell it I'm user #1. 3 Confirm that my height is the same it was last time. 4 Confirm that my gender is the same as it was last time. 5 Confirm that my age is the same as it was last time. 6+ As many clicks as necessary to adjust my weight by half-pound increments since last time. 7 press the Start button. Considering that height, gender, and age change very slowly over one's lifetime and weight is changing constantly, I would have preferred if they ask for the weight first.
  
  
• It works
  By A1UZ7QNBHTYP81 on 2006-08-18
  It does what it advertises. The bodyfat readings do fluctuate, but that's normal, it gives you a good general idea of how much bodyfat you have, and it gives a simple reading of whether your bmi with your body fat is low, normal, high, too high. I got it for about 25 bucks so good buy.
  
  
• Omron HBF-306C Fat Loss Monitor comments
  By A10J1GZN6A9N78 on 2006-11-09
  My physician introduced me to this item. He said very accurate when compaired to the water and pinching methods. Is affordable and easy to use. Oh, did I forget to mention, accurate compaired to a scale model I own. Amazon is great to order from, the online ordering was easy and the product arrived in 5 days!
  
  
• Good Product
  By A203VNHF5J19CW on 2006-11-15
  It's a neat gadget for the price. As someone mentioned above, it does fluctuate, just make sure to use the same grip and holding position and you will get consistent results. I was disappointed that the height stops at 6'6" though. It ranges from a height of 3'4" to 6'6" and weight range is 23 lb to 440.5 lb.
  
  
• Great tool to make sure you aren't loosing muscle
  By A1P5W5V5GMFY62 on 2007-01-04
  While dieting I don't want to loose any muscle. The Omron keeps me informed of what I'm doing.
  
  It's real easy to use. Takes just seconds to know where you stand in reaching your goal. Other reviews state that it is not very accurate or consistent, but they aren't using it right. The read outs will vary if you have just eaten or drank anything. It uses a bioelectrical impedance analysis to estimate your BFI. If you have consumed anything within 2 hours of testing yourself then this thing will give you a higher %.
  
  Just use it in the morning before you eat and it should be quite consistent.
  
  
• Pretty cool item...
  By A1HSL0XKDVO0XJ on 2007-05-17
  This is a pretty cool item, as it stores about 12 different profiles. Thing is, you have to hold your arms at the exact same level every time for an accurate reading. I do it 2 out of 3 times, and use the common number. For the price, you can't beat it. Sure, it's not 100%, but it's pretty darn close. +/- 1% off I think.
  
  Worth having if fitness is important in your life.
  
  
• Easy and Accurate
  By A2EI3GANRZ2UTG on 2007-01-10
  I was a little skeptical when I bought this, but I wanted a more accurate method of analyzing my overall body fat. I've been gaining weight, but not loosing any midsection fat - this tool lets me know I'm putting on muscle - not just fat pounds. I've decided to incorporate more cardio because of this tool and now I'm seeing the results I wanted - I lost 2 inches so far.
  
  I've found it very easy to use - didn't even need the intstruction manual to get going - but I would reccommend reviewing for tips on usage like some of the other reveiwers have mentioned. And always chart yourself to keep track of your progress.
  
  
• Not as accurate as I had hoped
  By A2WU96JW2F8DQG on 2007-04-02
  I also ordered the Accumeasure Fitness 3000 Personal Body Fat Tester, and I already own a scale by Tanita that measures body fat. I wanted to see if this Fat Loss Monitor was accurate. Unfortunately, in my experience with this item, it was not accurate. The calipers and the scale I already owned came up with the same result, and this monitor showed a result of 10 % lower. That is a big difference, and I decided to return the item.
  
  
  
• BMI chart does same for less $$$
  By A2XWUVEBB77KFY on 2007-06-20
  I was very dissapointed with this device.
  Being a female weight lifter of several years, I have more muscle than fat but this machine gave me the same reading as if I just did height, weight, age.
  I took it to the gym.
  I had two guys who were extreemly low in body fat but well muscled try it. It gave them high BMI readings! Those poor guys were pretty upset. Someone explained to us that this device basically just uses the normal BMI chart.
  So, if you weigh 200, it cannot decipher if it is fat or muscle.
  I would love to return it for a refund but I have had it for a few months and I am sure they wouldn't refund it. I have only used it that one day. Very dissapointed.
  
  
• Holy @#$! I'm Fat
  By A39I4C00ZO1J8S on 2007-08-26
  My health club had an older model Omron and I used it once per week and found the results to be very precise, in that it didn't matter it I measured morning, noon, night, before or after a workout...the body fat reading was the same +/- maybe .1%
  
  The 306C arrived several days ago. I think the precision is a bit less. There have been days where I've gained/lost .5% I'm being silly measuring body fat daily much less several times per day, but it hasn't lost its toy status yet. In fact I'm measuring right now.
  
  Ok so as a fat monitor the results are still pretty reliable. As a 6ft, 200lb guy .5% body fat is only 1 lb difference. How accurate the number is, I don't know. I just want a reliable baseline.
  
  Now the BMI...this scale was developed by supermodels and Pee Wee. I'm told that I need to be below a 24 BMI rating. At 27.4 I believe I'm technically classified as a "Fatty Fatty Fat Fat"
  
  I've read that weightlifters get screwed on these measurements because we've got high medi-chlorian counts which allow us to effortlessly move large masses. My advice. Place a piece of masking tape over the BMI reading and put away the celery.
  
  May the force of gravity be with you
  
  
• Great product
  By A26U9S1Q03I5ZQ on 2006-09-05
  Useful
  Easy to use
  Good price
  
  I would recommend this product!
  
  
• Inconsistent readings, Made in China quality
  By A2YTJ1V3HPB903 on 2007-09-10
  Unreliable to the point of being pretty worthless. Even when running the test five or six times in a row, I get such varying results that I have little faith in its accuracy.
  
  Useful if you want to know that you're, say, in a certain +/-2% fat % range (e.g., 12-16%). But you can know that simply by stepping on the scale and looking at yourself in the mirror.
  
  Not useful if you want to track results of hard work at the gym and dieting over periods of weeks or months.
  
  
• Not that great
  By A2VBX3CRI4L8DQ on 2007-07-26
  1) you need a scale handy because you need current weight for this to be accurate.
  2)BMI is totally inaccurate if you're an athlete/weight lifter.
  
  
• Cheap Electronics
  By APYTDFERMUUQR on 2007-06-09
  Worked great for about a year. Would not work after replacing batteries. Tried several batteries that worked in other devices.
  
  
• Fat Loss monitor
  By A1FD8YA0HR96DJ on 2007-12-12
  This fat loss monitor does not work for me. I am muscular and very athletic and it is not acurate. I had to go back to using calipers.
  
  
• Worth the price paid....
  By A73PWWVEDFDT9 on 2007-03-08
  I enjoy having the fat loss monitor. I think it works just as I had expected it to work. I don't believe that this is 100% correct in determining my body fat % but I do believe that it gives me a good idea of where I am at and also shows the progress that I am making to reduce my body fat.
  
  It doesn't always give the same readout if done multiple times but it is close. They don't come out all over the place. I may get 25.4 and then 25.6 and then 25.4. For the price it was worth the purchase.
  
  
• Overly simplistic, inaccurate, inconsistent, large variance
  By A3B63ECNISQ6TE on 2008-02-14
  1. Calculates BMI when it measures body fat percentage--this is deceptive. The BMI is a straight calculation, not dependent at all on what the body fat measurement is doing. The BMI should be automatically displayed based on entered weight and height.
  2. Only gives options for "Athlete" and "Normal" in terms of how much the user works out. Changing from one category to the other has a large impact on the measured body fat percentage--3 percentage points in my case, or about 15 for "Athlete" and 18 for "Normal." With all the inputs required, surely the user should be able to input more data in order to get a smoother transition from a condition of not working out at all to working out like a professional athlete. There must be some "in between" people out there (like almost everyone!).
  3. Seems to have a HUGE daily variance. I've been taking a measurement every day at the same time (first thing in the morning), ensuring I haven't eaten for many hours or drunk anything recently. Yet I get a variance from about 14.5% to 16.8%, maintaining a pretty regular fitness program and eating about the same day to day. Surely my body fat percentage is not varying that much every day!
  
  
• Totally Worthless
  By A2HJ8R7O25A3IQ on 2008-07-03
  This product is inconsistent. I can take five different readings in a row and receive five widely ranging different results. Save your money and look up the Navy body fat formula instead.
  
  
• Why did I buy this?
  By A2JFN0N8Z7GZ7I on 2007-01-03
  I'm not sure how much body fat people expect to shed but I think you would need to change by a lot to benefit from this fat loss monitor. If I take two measurements in a row they will often differ by a few tenths of a percent. That is when I measure one right after the first! Measuring at different times of the day when who knows what other factors are different gives even wilder variation. Honestly I would be impressed with myself if I could drop 1% in a month or two, and yet this monitor will read variations that are many tenths of that 1% over the course of 1 day. Not to mention how annoying it is to have an extra object laying around my apartment. If you really want something to measure body fat at least save yourself some space and buy a scale with a built in body fat monitor. Maybe I can get rid of this thing on craigslist but buying this monitor left me only with regret
  
  
• Fat Loss Monitor
  By A1OAK6EMYP2ADW on 2007-01-11
  I have used these monitors personally as well as in a women's fitness center which I owned. They are easy to use, provide accurate measurements, and definitely help monitor weight loss by providing body fat percentage and body mass index information. Highly recommended.
  
  
• Fat Loss Monitor
  By ACYPX0Q4ZJT6R on 2007-02-23
  i had read some negitive things about this monitor. but after using one i took the chance and am pleased. it may not be top of the line but if you follow the instructions it works very well. i have teasted it at work with the people i work with as part of a fitness program we are doing together and we all like it. once you have a baseline you can easilly monitor your progress and it only take 7 seconds. Amazon was half the price of any other company so for 25 dollars we got a good deal and the 12 people on our fitness team are happy to know how they are progressing. well most of them are happy, the ones not losing fat are not as happy.
  
  
• omron body fat anylizer
  By A1B1YGQYKNCDQ on 2007-02-26
  This product is pretty good. I don't think it is 100% acurate in comparison to more advanced bioelectrical tests that I have used. But for the price it isn't bad. I find there's a 1-2% margin of error, again - not bad and if you use this same method of measurement every time you test then it should be a pretty good way to track your progress.
  
  
• Very good.
  By A1P9QRDRYY6FXL on 2007-06-19
  I have used one a while ago when my wife and I took a Bio-Nutrition class. We first checked our body fat manually then we checked out results with the 306c. It was almost the same.
  
  

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