Tanita BC-543 Review (& Accuracy Testing)

I own the popular Tanita BC-543 Body Composition Monitor scales and thought I'd offer a comprehensive review. These give you not only your weight but also body fat percentage, lean mass, body total body water percentage, physique rating, visceral fat and BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate).
Overall they seem both reliable for repeated weighing and accurate when comparing to my actual body fat percentage. They have four user profiles, a guest mode, and also the option to press the weight symbol (which doubles as the OFF button) if all you want to know is your weight.
The majority of the negative reviews on Amazon are due to the product breaking, mine have been fine for the 4 months I've had them but it sounds like 6-12 months is when they give out. I will of course post a comment on this video should they stop working.
The only unwarranted negative reviews were people who hadn't read the manual, and found unusual readings. They are VERY sensitive to your body water %, so much so I found an almost perfect correlation between my reported fat % and the water %. I purposefully tried drinking less prior to the testing in this video and got some of my highest readings. For that reason you have to wait 2-3 hours after waking up, eating or hard exercise to get more consistent readings.
I created a template sheet for correcting body fat %, this is based on myself and may not be accurate for you. If you have gmail you can go to File - Make a Copy and you will have one that you can edit docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...
Website: www.9to5strength.com
Instagram: / 9to5strength

[@stefkatonkova]

I've been using the same scale for over 5 years now and still working perfectly (it was a second-hand purchase back then). I love it :)

[@ZipZipInkspot]

Appreciate the careful and data-based evaluation of the product. Was concerned about accuracy, and that looks good, but the product lifespan reliability issue that you discussed is serious enough to dissuade me from getting it. Still, your charts show me that I can obtain much of the data by using equations: Excel spreadsheets here we come. Thanks!

[@gigimoore3738]

I own one similar to this one (U.S.). My Tanita has worked well for at least 5 yrs....without issues, except changing the 4 AA batteries a couple of times.

[@IvankkNeo]

Finally a good video about the subject without trying to sell you bullshit, Thanks mate!
Do you have any opinion about the Xiaomi Mi Body Composition Scale 2 ?

[@momma.mash.potatoes6335]

Great video, thank you. 😊

[@ashirbaevakanykey]

thanks for your help. it was really difficult 😅

[@danielmaggioni8857]

So, tell me if i understood (i am italian): The more you were hydrated, the less Fat Mass was recognised by the device. And in the same way, the device recognised more body fat mass when you were dehydrated. Is it right?

[@9to5strength]

Yes that is right

[@janbanan8780]

Great video! Where can I find an excel sheet to fill in my TANITA results? :D Thanks in advance!

[@9to5strength]

If you have a gmail account you can open a Google Sheet and start recording results. Here's a template of the one I was using in the video docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1s0EmwRWi7HLG1ngJDZOyP5rpeBmDpIVHBjFD84zez3A/edit?usp=sharing

[@janbanan8780]

@@9to5strength Awesome! Thanks a lot! :D

[@deetee-uk]

Mine just stopped working...won't turn on at all. Thinking of taking it apart to see if I can spot anything. Advice welcome 🙂

[@kevk57]

had mine years no problems at all

[@gigimoore3738]

Ditto!

[@naturalbeautiful2009]

How to I do if TANITA show Error, because I’m press fast , so it broken error

[@cecilwampler1242]

Mine recently stopped displaying. They are nice when they are working. It's a shame they didn't put a lot of effort into the quality and durability of the product.

[@gigimoore3738]

Have you tried changing the batteries?

[@cecilwampler1242]

@@gigimoore3738 Oh yeah, that's the first thing I do when something stops working.

[@milazzosteenoven]

I’ve been using Tanita scales for 4 years. I trusted them, until I was recently diagnosed with osteoporosis, after a Dexa scan. My scales give a reading of 2.2kg bone mass, which is green on their analysis.

[@9to5strength]

Thanks for sharing, my mum bought Tanita scales specifically to monitor her osteopenia so that's a bit concerning it can be so wrong

[@fabrb26]

Did the scale still work , now that we are 6 month later , still accurate ? Thx

[@9to5strength]

Hey, yes it's been used 3x/week and it's still going strong!

[@sandramcchannel]

9to5Strength When is the best time to weigh and how often?

[@tracythupham3877]

How do you reset or clear the information entered incorrectly?

[@9to5strength]

I just tried this now (as my profile still has me as a 32 year old 😀) if you first press SET then use the up or down arrows to select the profile you want to change, then press SET again you can update age etc.

[@CamiloFreund]

At 0:47: “10 hours a week of intense sex life” 😂

[@elizabethabbott9177]

My scales BC-543 keep flashing ERROR and will not reset. I am very cross as we have had them for just 5 years and have always looked after them as they were expensive to buy. It is very frustrating and shows what a poor product it actually is. Shoddy Chinese goods. My parents have a pair of 'normal' scales which are close on 50 years old and still are perfectly accurate.

[@gigimoore3738]

Have you tried changing the batteries?

[@tomekvilmovskiy6547]

1:47 - 3.0 kilos... while should be about 10 kilos )

[@falfieri3167]

I don’t understand, it says Im 104 lbs but Im like 160. Thing is an absolute junker.