Measuring Body Composition
How we measure body composition. And Why.
Body Bar MD experts analyze and measure your body composition using state of the art technology – the InBody570 by Biospace. It’s detailed analysis gives us the ability to pinpoint muscle mass and fat mass – and develop custom plans to achieve your healthy weight loss goals.
The InBody Composition machine analyzes percent body fat (by location), basal metabolic rate, skeletal muscle mass, segmental lean analysis, visceral fat levels, hydration status, and uses these inputs to calculate your body’s metabolism.
Body Composition Measurements
Body Fat Percentage
Excess fat cells increase risk for diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancers, and many other health problems. Reducing your total body fat percentage, especially visceral fat levels, is far more important than just reducing weight. Average body fat percentage goals:
- Less than 25% for Men
- Less than 30% for Women
Basal Metabolic Rate
The Inbody machine can accurately detect your metabolism. Metabolism is defined as the calories your body needs to sustain itself daily. This does not include exercise calories. For example, if your metabolism is 1,300 calories per day and you ate that many calories daily, you would maintain your weight.
The basal metabolic rate is based upon the muscle mass you carry and the % body fat you carry. The higher percent body fat, the slower the metabolism. The higher percent muscle mass, the faster the metabolism.
Understanding your basal metabolic rate helps us determine whether you have a “normal” metabolism for your age. It also helps you track your caloric intake during weight loss maintenance to make sure you are not consuming more than your body needs.
Skeletal Muscle Mass
Skeletal muscle mass is the actual quantity (pounds) of muscle on your whole body. If you are not at the appropriate muscle mass goal for your age increased strength training exercises to increase muscle mass will most likely be recommended. During active weight loss skeletal muscle mass is followed closely to ensure that you are maintaining adequate muscle mass while losing fat mass.
Muscle mass is what gives us our metabolism, for every 1 lb of muscle we increase, our metabolism increases by roughly 50 cal/day.Segmental Lean Analysis
A segmental lean analysis tell you exactly where and how your muscle is distributed. It shows all four limbs and the trunk. And gives you to see the areas of your body that are doing well – and areas that you need to target to help achieve weight loss success. For example, your legs have enough muscle, but your arms are under goal, an arm strength training exercise regimen may be recommended.
Visceral Fat Level
A segmental lean analysis tell you exactly where and how your muscle is distributed. It shows all four limbs and the trunk. And gives you to see the areas of your body that are doing well – and areas that you need to target for overa. For example, your legs have enough muscle, but your arms are under goal, an arm strength training exercise regimen may be recommended.
Body Water Analysis
When assessing your weight health, it is important to understand how hydrated you are and the distribution of the fluid throughout your body. This is shown as a ratio of extracellular water over total body water. Good hydration and proper distribution of water occurs when most of the water is intracellular meaning inside our cells. Extracellular water is the water outside our cells which increases in conditions that cause swelling. All recommendations regarding hydration for your body will be based on this analysis.