Manta MM443, User Manual

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USer’S MANUAl
10
User’s Manual
Warning:
People with pacemakers or other electronic body implants
should not use this product since the body resistance meas-
urement method may interfere with its proper operation.
Suitable for adults and children over 10 years of age. If in
doubt please seek medical advice.
Water and Body Fat Monitor
Your new Water and Body Fat Monitor has been de-
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signed to accurately indicate your weight plus measure
your body fat and water and will provide many years of
service if used correctly.
Your Water and Body Fat Monitor uses a Load Cell
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system which weighs with a high degree of accuracy;
plus the weigh platform contains electrodes which
measure the electrical resistance of the body. Lean
muscle has a lower resistance than fat and this can be
correlated with body weight. Using your age, gender
and height, the body fat percentage is calculated by
the built-in computer. This method is quick, safe and
accurate, giving a reading within 30 seconds. The
scale has a memory for up to eight people, allowing
the scale to be used by everyone in the family without
entering your data every time.
Why Are Body Fat Measurements Important?
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Fat can contribute to considerable stress for the human
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body, especially to the cardiovascular system, and may
also lead to diabetes. Body fat, however, is at the same
time an important part of the human body. It takes
care of a number of important tasks, from protection of
our joints to storage for vitamins and regulation of our
body temperature. The aim, therefore, is not simply to
reduce fat as much as possible, but rather to achieve
and maintain a healthy ratio between muscle mass
and body fat.
Obesity is not a question of absolute body weight. For
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several years now, obesity has instead been defined as
the presence of superfluous body fat. There are heavy
people with a balanced ratio of fat to muscle mass, just
as there are also supposedly slim people with signifi-
cantly raised body fat values. Control of both values,
weight and fat, therefore, is a basic prerequisite for fit-
ness and good health. Conventional scales, however,
are not able to provide the necessary information.
Method of Measurement
One measuring method recognised by scientists all over
the world is the so-called bioelectric impedance analysis
(BIA). With this method a weak, and for the human body
absolutely safe* and imperceptible electric current, is passed
through the body. (Current is able to flow more easily through
the fluid in our muscles than through fat.) The current passes
through both legs and permits measurement of the electrical
resistance of your body.
This resistance is dependent on the amount of water in
the body. Our muscles contain a constant proportion of 73%
water. Having measured the electrical resistance, we can
use this fact to calculate directly the muscle mass in our
lower limbs. Our gender and body height are then taken into
account to determine an overall muscle mass.
The fat mass, on the other hand, acts as an insulator
(it reduces the ability of the current to pass through) and
thus cannot be calculated directly. It is instead determined
indirectly from the weight measured at the same time, us-
ing the formula:
Body fat mass = Body weight - Mus
-
cle mass
This method enables us to take into account the overall
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fat mass.
The water content of the body is measured by calculat-
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ing 73% of the muscle mass.
See warning at the top of the instruction leaflet.
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Why is a water content measurement important?
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After oxygen, water is the most important nutrient re-
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quired by the body in order to function efficiently.
Water plays a vital role in nearly every function of the
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body. Water helps to:
Regulate body temperature
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Carry nutrients throughout the body
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Moisten and purify the skin
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Improve the digestive process
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Eliminate waste
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Lubricate and cushion joints
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Every process in our body occurs in a water medium and
most people don’t drink enough water. By keeping a check
on the level of fluid in your body, you can act quickly to take
in extra fluids as and when necessary.