We’re all about optimizing health – but how do you know the changes you’re making are physically moving you in the right direction? We already know that the BMI is often not an accurate predictor of health because it does not consider the body fat percentage or body fat distribution.
The answer is using biomarkers. The word biomarker is short for biological marker and can be used to see how well the body responds to a treatment for a disease or condition. It’s important to have objective data to see what is working and what isn’t working, to create the results that you want. If you are looking to increase your muscle mass, drop your body fat percentage, lower visceral fat - we have an amazing tool that scientifically measures your progress.
Our InBody Scan is a state-of-the-art system that uses BIA (bioelectrical impedance analysis) technology by reading the impedance (resistance) of low-level currents through the body. Body composition analyses are used to better evaluate your weight by breaking it down into its core components: muscle, fat and water. The InBody accurately shows changes in fat mass, lean muscle mass, and body fat percentage, providing a thorough picture of your overall health. Your information is saved in the system, and you receive a printout after each quarterly session with tons of helpful information.
HOW INBODY DIFFERS FROM A REGULAR SCALE
Simply weighing yourself on a scale doesn’t tell you much about your fitness level. You need a more detailed description to understand if you are shifting your body’s ratio of fat to muscle and preventing obesity.
InBody breaks the results of the analysis into sections that will show you:
- Body Composition
- Muscle to Fat Analysis
- Obesity Analysis
- Segmental Lean Analysis
- Body Composition History
The Body Composition Measurement is composed of:
- Total Body Water: InBody measures both intracellular and extracellular water. Intracellular water is the water inside the cells. Extracellular is body water outside the cells. Monitoring Extracellular Water can provide deep insights. If you notice an increase in ECW, but not ICW, this could be due to acute inflammation from overtraining.
- Dry Lean Mass: This is the weight of the protein and mineral content in your body. It’s important because protein makes up most of your muscle, and Dry Lean Mass excludes body water. If your Dry Lean Mass increases, then this is generally a sign that you have gained muscle.
- Body Fat Mass: This value reveals how much body fat, both surface level (subcutaneous) and internal (visceral), makes up your weight.
The Muscle to Fat Analysis is composed of:
- Weight: Measures total body weight
- Skeletal Muscle Mass: Measures total weight of body skeletal muscle. Skeletal muscles compose about 30 to 40% of your total mass. They are muscles that connect to your bones and all you to perform a wide range of movements and functions
- Body Fat Mass: Measures weight of fat in your body
InBody also does an obesity analysis. This section displays your Percent Body Fat (PBF) and Body Mass Index (BMI), as well as the healthy ranges for these measurements. BMI is determined by dividing your weight by your height squared. BMI is just a single value that does not differentiate between fat or muscle mass. If you use BMI alone to track your fitness progress, you will never know if the changes were in fat or muscle. BMI may also oversimplify health risks. Two people with the same height and weight would have the same BMI and perceived health risks—even if one of them has a healthy amount of fat and high muscle mass. That’s why PBF is the better indicator. It puts your weight into context by showing how much of it is fat mass. Tracking changes in your body fat percentage lets you focus on actual fat loss, not just weight loss.
The next section that you will see on your printout is the Segmental Lean Analysis. This is one of the most valuable sections of your InBody Result Sheet. Segmental Lean Analysis displays your Lean Body Mass (Fat-Free Mass) in all body segments in pounds and its sufficiency to support your body weight as a percentage.
Interpreting your Segmental Lean Analysis can help you:
- Spot areas for improvement
- Assess if your Lean Body Mass is sufficiently developed in all body segments
- Identify if you have any muscle imbalances
Finally, you will see a Body Composition History at the bottom of your sheet. This gives you a visual graph to view your stats from day one and beyond.
Whether you have high level fitness goals or simply want to gauge where you are at as you begin your health journey, InBody is a great resource. This service is provided to all our Optimal Health Plan Members, so feel free to step on it the next time you are in the office!
