For a little over four months now, I’ve been using a Vitafit smart scale to track my weight. Purchasing one of the best smart scales is one of the easiest ways to monitor key metrics such as weight, body mass index (BMI), and body fat. It gives you insight into how many calories you should eat per day to lose weight and helps you track your long-term progress.
I purchased the Vitafit from Amazon for about $20, and I honestly didn’t have high expectations. I’ve been pleasantly surprised by its interface and features, but deep down I’ve always resigned myself to the fact that it’s probably not all that accurate. The relative results are still useful because the results are always consistent, but I had no illusions that it was truly an accurate scale.
That was until I tested it during my recent Vitafit bathroom scale review. When it comes to a smart scale’s performance, the only thing that can truly test its caliber is its accuracy. Luckily, I live next door to a modern, well-equipped gym with body composition machines where everyone sings and everyone dances. So I decided to have a little showdown. And you must have been surprised by me. result.
The Tanita MC-780MA P is a £6,500 / $8,500 / AU$12,500 body composition monitor designed in Japan with precision and clinical accuracy. It offers over 20 whole body measurements (including BMI, fat mass, etc.), 9 regional measurements (partial body fat, etc.), and more. Boasts Class III Non-Automatic Weighing Instrument (NAWI) accuracy and MDD Class II-a medical device classification. Basically, this is some of the best body composition technology on the market.
So how does the $20 Health Hero stack up against this $8,500 behemoth? To find out, we ran a series of controlled tests with Vitafit and Tanita. I tested myself with the Vitafit, then with the Tanita, and a little while later with the Vitafit again. I took short walks in between to and from the test site. The results were mixed, but overall we were surprised by how accurate the Vitafit proved on some important measurements. There were many other numbers in the ballpark, but only two stood out as wild or unstable.
The pair shares a total of 11 measurements. The following is a compilation of these:
Swipe to scroll horizontally Weight (KG) Row 0 – Cell 0 Vitafit (first test) TanitaVitafit (second test) Weight 107.75107.6107.45
In both measurements, the Vitafit weighed within 0.15 kg of the Tanita. The latter lower weight reflects the energy spent commuting to and from the gym during the second test.
Weight is the core metric of the smart scale and the number that matters most when it comes to your overall health, calorie tracking, and more. I couldn’t believe that Vitafit came this close to Tanita. It was a great start.
(Image credit: Future) Swipe to scroll horizontally Body Fat (%) Row 0 – Cell 0 Vitafit (First Test) TanitaVitafit (Second Test) Body Fat 26.127.426
I had my doubts about the Vitafit’s body fat measurements, but the smart scale certainly seems to be lacking here. It’s a shame because it’s an important measurement. Having too much body fat can increase your risk of certain diseases, but having too little body fat can also be dangerous. Vitafit seems to be rated low on this, at 1.3-1.4% lower than Tanita. This is a fairly large difference from the measured value of approximately 26-27%.
Swipe to scroll horizontallyFat Free Mass (FFM) (KG)Row 0 – Cell 0Vitafit (first test)TanitaVitafit (second test)Fat Free Mass79.6478.179.52
Lean mass is the amount of body mass that is not made up of fat, and in a broad sense, it is lean body mass, bone structure, etc. If you’re trying to lose weight or get in shape, you’ll ideally want to reduce the aforementioned body fat while maintaining as much FFM as possible, or increasing fat through strength training and resistance training. .
Vitafit seems to be overdoing this, being 1.4-1.5kg heavier than Tanita. However, given that it underestimates body fat, that becomes a problem.
Swipe to scroll horizontally Bone Mass (KG) Row 0 – Cell 0 Vitafit (first test) TanitaVitafit (second test) Bone Mass 3.893.83.89
Bone mass measures the amount of mineral contained in a given volume of bone (definition) and can be used to measure bone density, track osteoporosis treatment, and predict the likelihood of fractures. Vitafit excelled here, coming within 90 grams of Tanita’s measurements in both cases, very impressive scores.
Swipe to scroll horizontallyMuscle Mass (KG)Row 0 – Cell 0Vitafit (first test)TanitaVitafit (second test)Muscle Mass 75.7474.375.64
Muscle mass is a self-explanatory measurement (it’s how much muscle your body has) and is another great metric to track if you’re trying to gain muscle mass or lose weight. In general, similar to FFM, when trying to lose weight, it is ideal to maintain as much muscle (or gain muscle) as possible while reducing body fat. Obviously, this depends on your fitness goals (for example, this adage doesn’t apply to marathon runners), but tracking it can help you monitor and avoid muscle atrophy (thinning and wasting of muscles). Helpful.
This is a more complicated comparison because Vitafit displays muscle mass as a percentage of body weight rather than in kilograms. However, according to my calculations, I overestimate my muscle mass by 1.3-1.4 kg.
Again, this completely confirms the body fat discrepancy mentioned above.
Swipe to scroll horizontally Visceral Fat Row 0 – Cell 0 Vitafit (first test) TanitaVitafit (second test) Visceral Fat 181018
Visceral fat measures the amount of abdominal fat within the abdominal cavity, as opposed to subcutaneous fat, which resides under the skin. While the right amount is important to protect your organs, too much can cause serious health problems. Visceral fat is usually expressed as a simple number, but Vitafit has revealed one of its biggest contradictions here.
Tanita’s rating was 10 points, while Vitafit’s score was a whopping 18 points. This is doubly annoying because the former is healthy (according to Tanita’s own metrics), but the latter is excessive. This is even more surprising considering that Vitafit underestimated total body fat. You won’t be surprised to learn that I will be working with Tanita on this matter.
(Image credit: Future)Swipe to scroll horizontallyWater (%)Row 0 – Cell 0Vitafit (first test)TanitaVitafit (second test)Water 46.3051.8046.30
Body water is the total amount of fluid in the body and is an important marker of dehydration. I don’t think it’s necessary to go into detail about the benefits of drinking water, but it’s worth knowing that the ideal normal range for adult women is 45-60%, and for men 50-65%.
As you can see, Vitafti is off by more than 5% here, which is a concerning difference considering the typical range is just a 15% margin. I also take this with a pinch of salt (or should I say electrolytes?). Both Vitafit body water readings were the same, so this indicates a measurement issue rather than an anomaly.
Swipe to scroll horizontallyBMIRow 0 – Cell 0 Vitafit (first test)TanitaVitafit (second test)BMI32.232.132.2
Body Mass Index is probably one of the most well-known health markers, especially if you were fat-shamed with Nintendo Wii Fit back in the day. This is basically your weight divided by your height squared, expressed as a number. There are some limitations as it only measures total weight and not body composition.
For example, a well-built American football player could easily be classified as obese, even though he has a lot of muscle mass. But with Vitafit, it’s a different string to the bow and scores within 0.1 of Tanita. BMI isn’t a perfect indicator of health these days, but if you need to know that, Vitafit is your go-to.
Swipe to scroll horizontally BMR (kcal) Row 0 – Cell 0 Vitafit (first test)TanitaVitafit (second test)BMR215523572155
Basal metabolic rate is the number of calories your body needs to maintain each day, and is important information for anyone trying to lose or gain weight or maintain their current weight. There’s about a 200 calorie difference between Vitafit and Tanita, but since BMR is a calculation, not a measurement, we’ll ignore that.
There are multiple ways to calculate BMR, to name three: the Mifflin-St. Geor formula, the Revised Harris-Benedict formula, and the Kutch-McArdle formula, with Vitafit and Tanita likely using different formulas. It’s possible, and often their formulas differ by 10%. my experience.
(Image credit: Future) Swipe to scroll horizontally Skeletal Muscle Mass (%) Row 0 – Cell 0 Vitafit (first test) TanitaVitafit (second test) Skeletal Muscle Mass 41.840.141.8
Skeletal muscle mass constitutes the muscles that are connected to bones and typically accounts for 30-40% of the total mass. They provide the power you need to move around and protect your joints, so consuming a healthy amount is a good indicator of your overall health. Expressed as a percentage, Vitafit was 1.7% off in both cases. It’s not a perfect measurement, but it’s not a huge difference either.
Swipe to scroll horizontally Metabolic Age Row 0 – Cell 0 Vitafit (first test) TanitaVitafit (second test) Metabolic Age 244424
Your metabolic age is a comparison of your BMR to the average for your age group. Ideally, you want a score that reflects your actual age or is lower than your actual age. Vitafita and Tanita were completely different things here, but I think that’s a good enough explanation. As mentioned earlier, each BMR score is very different and likely reflects a different methodology. Vitafit might say I’m 24 and Tanita might say I’m 44 because they use the same different numbers to calculate metabolic age.
Measuring
(Image credit: Future)
As you can see, Tanita has always been the clear winner when it comes to accuracy and accuracy, but I was really surprised at how much Vitafit caught up. I couldn’t believe that my measurements, including weight, BMI, and bone mass, were so close to the slugger’s measurements.
Arguably, this test reveals some of the limitations of the smart scale, and clearly the $20 Vitafit struggles more with the compositional aspects of its role, especially body fat, muscle mass, and water.
I’m not too worried about BMR and metabolic age, as they seem to be calculations rather than measurements.
Overall, I was thoroughly impressed with how well my $20 smart scale performed against my $8,500 body composition monitor. Rather, this shows that if you spend a little more on the best smart scale on the market, you should be able to get even more accurate results.
In the meantime, even the cheapest smart scales offer some benefits in terms of tracking to help you lose weight and reach your fitness goals. For more information on how to use a smart scale, see our guide on how to use a smart scale.
Perhaps more importantly, these results show that Vitafit provides consistent, if not always accurate, readings each time you use it. With that in mind, even if you take these results with a grain of salt, you can still benefit greatly from using a smart scale like this.
