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Homedics HealthStation Plus Scale
$29.99 + $5 Standard OR $12 Two-Day OR $15 One-Day Shipping
Condition: New

*DISCLAIMER* Wootalyzer! is in no way affiliated with Woot!, and this post may not always be here!

let me just step on the scale and find out how fat i actually am down to the decimal.

rhycochet wrote:let me just step on the scale and find out how fat i actually am down to the decimal.

Right?!

So, anyone know how accurate the biometrics are with this thing?

It took some digging to find any info on this one.

http://homedics.nexcess.net/home/bath/tony-little-s-body-express-body-fat-scale.html

Some reviews here:
http://www.hsn.com/health-fitness/tony-little-body-express-body-fat-scale-with-voice-assist_p-5801493_xp.aspx
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http://www.theshoppingchannel.com/Tony-Little/Accessories/Tony-Little-Body-Express-Body-Scale/pages/productdetails?nav=R:507641
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http://www.Bubba Bo Bob Brainssportinggoods.com/product/index.jsp?productId=11168910 <-- Auto-messed up link due to an occasionally provocative name? There are 2 reviews on D*ick's if you Google it...

This seems a good deal provided it's a durable model.

I paid more than twice this for a similar but less-functional scale several years back.

It has handled me standing on it weekly for nearly six years now, but it doesn't give body fat percentages or weight in stones (I used to weigh about 35 but I've lost about 15).

BTW, if you weigh 35st, this model isn't for you.

I was interested until I read about the "recorded Tony Little inspirational message". I don't know who Tony Little is, but I'm afraid he might just tell me that I'm an Anger Prisoner.

Not sure about this particular model, but there are 23 Homedics scales listed on Amazon - none with a rating of over 3.1/5.0

Sati wrote:It took some digging to find any info on this one..

The zombie apocalypse is upon us! Come on woot, GUNS! More guns! And AMMO! Lots of ammo.

thumperchick wrote:So, anyone know how accurate the biometrics are with this thing?

Well, not with this model or brand even, but I've tried a couple of other fat monitor scales like these and the body fat measurement is never even close.

I was curious about those ones Woot had that also had handles to hold onto to measure the body fat, etc. I figure that the type you just step on are probably all junk/inaccurate (by a lot), but maybe the ones that you step on and hold onto with your hands is more accurate?

Keep in mind that BIA, especially on home units, is VERY approximate, and not useful in absolute terms. I use BIA in some of my studies and even our $2000 machines are approximate, although many times more accurate than this. A BIA number is useful only in measuring trends, i.e. if it's consistently rising or lowering, then something biologic is going on, and if it's unintentional, then you should see a doctor. And of course, a consistently lowering number while dieting is good. But don't take the absolute number it gives too seriously. This especially true of body water percentage since that can't be inferred from simply sending a current through the muscles! Water is stored in a gut, and many other places. In fact, the entire technique is based on highly-generalized statistics, and the various results (fat, muscle, water) are derived from a very oversimplified formula.

For those who want to chart their BIA, make sure to use it consistently. Preferably, when the bladder is empty. By consistent, I mean at the same time of day, after the same activities each time. In other words, don't do your BIA one day after eating and then the next day after exercising.

I've owned this type of scale before.

It's not to be used in place of traditional body fat measurements, but more as well as, and as a kind of general guide.

The results vary enormously with body hydration amounts, so you can obtain vastly differing readings the very same day depending if a measurement is taken in the morning or evening.

They're pretty good, don't get me wrong, but don't go getting an eating disorder over the results.

Try to get results at the same time of day. Avoid mornings.

One last thing...A tony little inspirational message?
Hrm, I think I'll pass in that case.
I'm going to find his awful voice about as inspirational as a punch in the groin.

thumperchick wrote:So, anyone know how accurate the biometrics are with this thing?

No more or less accurate than any other leg-based BIA unit. Essentially, it measure how much a small current is impeded throughout the body. Fat is an insulator so current travels less efficiently, aka more impedance. On the other hand, muscle has a lot of water, so it conducts electricity, aka less impedance. By measuring how much a current is impeded traveling from one foot to the other, it attempts to calculate your fat percentage based on a database of norms for your age and gender.

In truth, these don't measure fat at all. More accurately, it estimates your water level and then calculate your fat and muscle from that (some will also guess at your bone density). Here are the problems:

1) Sending a current from one foot to the other only measures what's in the legs. The current does not travel through your upper body so it has no idea what's going on in the stomach, arms, etc. Professional BIA units send a current from one foot to a hand on the same side, to get an body-wide measurement. Furthermore, the patient has to lie at a specified angle.

2) Water in the bladder and intestines will affect the results, as may perspiration. It will lower the impedance, giving the illusion of less fat. This is why subjects should have an empty bladder, and be measure consistently each time. Please see my other post for more details.

That said, these are useful for charting trends when used properly. For example, if you're dieting, you should see a consistently lowering fat percentage. And a normal healthy person should see no longterm change. If a healthy person sees a number trending upward or downward without a change in lifestyle, then s/he should consult a doctor.

To answer your question, this is fine as long as you know its limitations. As a scale, it seem above average.

DaZoneRanger wrote:Well, not with this model or brand even, but I've tried a couple of other fat monitor scales like these and the body fat measurement is never even close.

I was curious about those ones Woot had that also had handles to hold onto to measure the body fat, etc. I figure that the type you just step on are probably all junk/inaccurate (by a lot), but maybe the ones that you step on and hold onto with your hands is more accurate?

Hands-only BIA units, i.e. Omron, are just as inaccurate as these leg-only units. That's because the current only travels through the upper body, from hand to hand. These leg-only models send a current from one foot to the other, missing the stomach and upper body.

Medical grade BIA machines send a current through one foot to the hand on the same side, in an attempt to give an overall body measurement. The good news is that the scale with handles that Woot sold measured from foot to hand. That's an improvement but still pretty inaccurate. Medical grade BIA is done while lying done at specific angles, and during controlled conditions.

While inaccurate, these can be useful tools for charting trends. If you want serious accurate fat measurements, you'll need to do a water tank weighing, or alternatively, DEXA.

jrj3224 wrote:Not sure about this particular model, but there are 23 Homedics scales listed on Amazon - none with a rating of over 3.1/5.0

I haven't looked at those reviews so I'll just make a general statement. I bet a lot of the negative reviews for the BIA units are based on unrealistic expectations. When people see "digital," they think perfect accuracy and consistency. Unfortunately, BIA is an estimate at best, and there are too many variables to be reliably consistent. This is especially true in a non-medical setting like home.

That said, this seems like an above average scale for a great price. Here are the pluses:

- It goes up to 400 lbs, with a 0.2 lb resolution. Most scales will only go up to 300 lbs or 330 lbs.
- The display is large and backlit. Backlighting is uncommon in home scales. This is especially helpful in bathrooms, where lighting isn't ideal and surfaces often get foggy. On the other hand, backlighting (and the voice function) means a bigger drain on batteries. In contrast, my mom has a no-frills digital scale that comes with an irreplaceable lithium battery. It was rated for 10 yrs, but is still running strong after 15+ yrs. hose who want to completely Green can buy a solar scale.
- It has 6 memories, whereas most scales only have 2 or 4.
- It has an Athlete mode for people who are uncommonly fit (they need to be calculated from an adjusted database). Many cheaper BIA scales only have a normal mode. Note that this only affects BIA, not normal weighing.
- Has a minimal of well-spaced buttons. My scale has a lot of closely-spaced buttons which can be confusing.
- Seems wide, stable and easy to clean. Too many scales choose form over function, i.e. the glass ones, but this one seems designed for usability.
- Comes with batteries for immediate use!
- Not sure if it has this but if the voice reads out your weight (and BIA), that's a major plus.

((( In contrast, my mom has a no-frills digital scale that comes with an irreplaceable lithium battery. It was rated for 10 yrs, but is still running strong after 15+ yrs. hose who want to completely Green can buy a solar scale.
- It has 6 memories, whereas most scales only have 2 or 4.)))


The battery that was not replaceable in my scale was replaceable. I just took it apart located the battery and replaced it. Sounds simple but there was just a bit of soldering to make it work. The original battery lasted 16 years so I hope for the same amount of time from the replacement since it is being used the same amount.

Well, as our 8 year old homedics scale just died, and I have a jumbo coupon burning a hole in my pocket, this seems like an auspicious deal

FYI, I've owned a numbers of homedics items over the years, and have been pleased with the value for cost. But the can keep the inspiration recording...

A mirror is far more accurate than checking the impedance of the soles of your feet wrt lean body mass.

Hommedics scales are rated very poorly on Amazon. They are inaccurate (±5 lbs.) and one reviewer reported that the scale said his body was 91% muscle.

So I can eat whatever I want as much and as often as I like and with this scale I'll always weigh 188.6 lbs?

I'm totally in for one!

Anyone know if this is better or on par with any of the ~$30 scales at Walmart or on amazon?

I'm looking for a scale, but if its about the same I'd rather not wait for the long shipping times.

tafoxx wrote:I was interested until I read about the "recorded Tony Little inspirational message". I don't know who Tony Little is, but I'm afraid he might just tell me that I'm an Anger Prisoner.

I believe this is deserving of quality-post status.

Very difficult to find a scale that has a weight range over 300 lbs so this is a super deal. Anyone over 300lbs who is trying to lose weight should buy this.

How good is this on a scale from 1 to 300lbs?

Sorry, just weighing my options.

sdc100 wrote:No more or less accurate than any other leg-based BIA unit. Essentially, it measure how much a small current is impeded throughout the body. Fat is an insulator so current travels less efficiently, aka more impedance. On the other hand,...

blah blah blah eyes glaze over...

To answer your question, this is fine as long as you know its limitations. As a scale, it seem above average.

But if I was a contortionist and could stand on one hand and one foot then this would be good?

Really? How hard could it be to convert this little jewel so it WILL say "You are beautiful?" In for one to find out.

Tanita is the way to go. Mine has always been painfully accurate both absolute and relative. Underwater weighing metric. Ones with hands and feet even better. So says one former bike racer who likes beer more than bragging rights.

Got mine yesterday afternoon shipped by UPS ground. it came in a BIG box with the retail box padded by a bunch of airbags but since the scale platform is so wide I guess that was the closest shipping box they could fit it to.

I wish I had ordered more than one now after seeing it--it seems pretty stout and stable.

I was dismayed at first because it seemed dead after putting the batteries in but the problem was the dead, dead, batteries packed in the box.

I can't find a date code on the batteries, but there are some reference numbers to standards: IEC 60086-2-2006 and ISO 9001:2000.

A fresh set of AA's and it fired right up. Tony Little tells me I can DO it!

If it comes up again in a moofi or something I'll definitely think about getting one for my downstairs bathroom.

I also received mine yesterday. It came in a BIG box with NO padding, which worried me. The batteries it came with were also bunk. Once I found some new AAs it did start working.

I was surprised to find that it talked and turned off that "feature" with the switch on the bottom. It seems to weigh very accurately, down to 0.1 accuracy, as compared to a recently calibrated mechanical scale at my gym.

However, I've been having a lot of trouble getting it to read the biometric data. About 2/3 of the time when I turn on the scale it only displays weight and refuses to let me select a user. After power cycling it a few times, it lets me pick a user again and calculates biometrics. I may return it if it doesn't start working more consistently.

rabidfurball wrote:I also received mine yesterday. It came in a BIG box with NO padding, which worried me. The batteries it came with were also bunk. Once I found some new AAs it did start working.

I was surprised to find that it talked and turned off that "feature" with the switch on the bottom. It seems to weigh very accurately, down to 0.1 accuracy, as compared to a recently calibrated mechanical scale at my gym.

However, I've been having a lot of trouble getting it to read the biometric data. About 2/3 of the time when I turn on the scale it only displays weight and refuses to let me select a user. After power cycling it a few times, it lets me pick a user again and calculates biometrics. I may return it if it doesn't start working more consistently.

While poking around this afternoon, I think I found the source of the leftovers Woot sold on these things. While there are numerous HoMedics Models the "Tony Little" version of this seems to be an HSN promotion.

I'm a pretty big 'ole boy so I like the 400# limit. I'm not that interested in the body fat ect. because I know I could drop a few pounds

The HSN link has reviews and a video of Tony Little hisself embarrassing a 44yr old hotty.

Reading through the reviews, It looks like the biometrics feature is a little spotty. The manual does say your feet should be damp, but Tony's video makes no mention of that.

Hope this helps! Still a pretty good scale for $30 I think. Hope i don't have to eat my words...oh look! there's a card inside for two years of talking to a trainer chat line! exciting!

Just got mine in the mail. It was dead, bad batteries...

I just got mine in the mail today. When it tries to measure the body fat, I get an "Err 3" on the display. I've tried moistening my feet as the manual says. Any other tips?

robegarc wrote:I just got mine in the mail today. When it tries to measure the body fat, I get an "Err 3" on the display. I've tried moistening my feet as the manual says. Any other tips?

You may have a defective machine - you should try first contacting the manufacturer for a replacement, and then if that goes nowhere (but it should), then drop service@woot.com a line.

inkycatz wrote:You may have a defective machine - you should try first contacting the manufacturer for a replacement, and then if that goes nowhere (but it should), then drop service@woot.com a line.

I seem to have gotten it to work!! Loving my diets results. Thanks though.

I soaked my feet in the bathtub for a few and that seems to work. Wool socks keep my feet very dry apparently.

robegarc wrote:I seem to have gotten it to work!! Loving my diets results. Thanks though.

I soaked my feet in the bathtub for a few and that seems to work. Wool socks keep my feet very dry apparently.

Mmm, wool socks. Glad to hear it's all working now!

Batteries did not work also, seems to not work consistently...