Weighing in.

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These days, it's not enough just to know what you weigh; now it's necessary to be aware of your body-fat percentage--just in time for the holidays, no less. Well, if we're going to endure this sort of bad news, we figured we might as well go to the experts, so we obtained a Scale plus Body Fat Monitor from Tanita Corporation of America, Inc., Arlington Heights, Ill. After all, the company's professional body composition analyzers are used by doctors, medical centers, athletic teams, fitness clubs, and personal trainers.

The firm recently added seven new models, bringing the complete line to 18. We opted for the BF-578 Glass Model ($99.99) with its sleek design and large, easy-to-read LCD display. It's calibrated for adults and children who are moderately active or inactive, and athletic adults who are very physically fit. With its four-person memory, the scale compares current weight and body fat readings to the healthy range for each individual's age and gender.

The device utilizes the concept...