InBody Technology for Body Composition

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InBody technology uses electrical impedance to measure whole body composition including muscle mass and body fat percentage.

When we refer to body composition analysis, what exactly are we analyzing?

Amanda LaPointe: Basically, we’re analyzing the body composition, so what your body is made up of. Specifically when we’re referring to the analyzer that we use, we break it down into muscle, fat, and then the water retention within the body. So basically, what your body is made up of. You’re made up of muscle, you’re made up of fat, bone, all that stuff and we just end up looking at specifically your muscle to fat ratio and then the water retention within your body.

What is your InBody technology device called or what does it measure?

Amanda LaPointe: There is a few different InBody devices. The one that we have in our office is called the InBody 570 and again it’s measuring your whole body composition. You get your weight in pounds, you get your body mass, which people have heard of as BMI, you get your body fat percentage, and then it just breaks it down and looks more specifically at your muscle mass. It looks at that muscle on your right side of your body compared to your left side of your body. It looks at visceral fat, which people know as the fat around your organs, which is an indicator of a disease risk. We have weight, we have body mass, we have body fat percentage, and then just really looking at your fat and muscle distribution throughout your body.

How is the device used on a person?

Amanda LaPointe: Basically, it looks like a high tech scale and there’s electrodes on the scale. There’s two electrodes on the platform that you stand on and then there are electrodes on two handles that you grab. So basically we wipe down the scale, disinfect it, and then the patient or person will wipe down the bottoms of their feet and their hands and that creates a little better impedance through the body when the electrical impedance passes through, so just wiping the hands and the electrodes down.

Basically, the person just stands on the scale. It measures their weight first and then by grabbing the handles, the impedance is through the upper body through the hands, and then also the lower body from where they’re standing, so basically it’s an electrical impedance that is sent through the body, through the muscle and fat tissue, and then it gives you the reading of how much fat you have on your body, how much muscle you are.

The impedances are sent at different frequencies so they’re able to either go through the muscle and the fat in different ways and then it’s super easy. You’re on there for two minutes and it gives you a really great accurate reading of your muscle and your fat.

How are the results of the body composition analysis used to help people?

Amanda LaPointe: They’re used to give a snapshot or just a visual of a person’s values of where they’re at right now. So you get these values, you get your muscle, you get your fat analysis and then it just gives a person an idea of where they’re at. Do they need to lose fat around their midsection? Do they need to gain muscle in their upper or lower body? Basically, it just gives that person a focus area. Do they need to lose the weight? Do they need to gain the weight?

From there, they can take that information and run and either improve their nutritional habits or start working out a little bit more, focus on their legs if they need to gain a little bit more muscle in their legs.  So it’s very specific to the person and it gives them information of where they’re at. They may even see that their water retention, that number, that value is off a little bit, so are they at risk of maybe a disease or heart disease, something like that. Basically, it’s giving just a snapshot of where they are currently and then they can use that information to better increase their health.

Is this analysis only done with athletes or would others benefit from it?

Amanda LaPointe: Yes. It’s great for athletes but it’s also really great for just the general population. The reasons why you might use the InBody analysis for an athlete or for just the general population might be a little bit different. An athlete coming on to use the machine may really want to know their body fat percentage. They also might want to know their muscle mass. Do they have enough muscle mass in their lower body, in their upper body, maybe their right arm compared to their left?

It’s a little bit more on maybe strength and body fat percentage that an athlete might want to know this information. The general population, they can also use it too because again, it tells them, maybe it gives them an idea of their BMI, their body fat percentage, so it’s giving them really great values of indicators of are they at risk for disease, are they healthy, do they need to lose that weight around their midsection because that visceral fat number is up there? It’s really great for both populations. It just depends on the specific reason why you’re doing it, but it really works for both populations really well.

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If you are interested in speaking with Dr. Kyle Robertson, visit ferraro1.wpengine.com or call 973-478-2212 to schedule an appointment.

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