| |
Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis or Bioempedance Analysis
(BIA)
is a method of assessing your “body composition” - the measurement
of body fat in relation to lean body mass. It is integral
part of a health and nutrition assessment.
Improving your BIA measurement by lowering your percentage
of unheathy body fat can help reduce your risk to a variety
of serious health conditions.
Why is Body Composition Important to My Health?
Research has shown that body composition is directly related
to health. A normal balance of body fat is associated with
good health and longevity. Excess fat in relation to lean
body mass, a condition known as altered body composition,
can greatly increase your risks to cardiovascular disease,
diabetes and more. BIA fosters early detection of an improper
balance in your body composition, which allows for earlier
intervention and prevention. BIA also provides a measurement
of fluid and body mass that can be a critical assessment tool
for your current state of health.
BIA also serves to measure your progress as you work to improve
your health. Improving your BIA measurement, or maintaining
a healthy BIA measurement, can help keep your body functioning
properly for healthy aging and reduce risk to illness. With
your BIA results, we can recommend a personalized dietary
plan, nutritional supplements, and exercise to help you support
optimal health and well-being for a lifetime.
How Does a BIA Work?
BIA is much more sophisticated than your bathroom scale, but
just as painless-and almost as quick.
BIA is a simple procedure that can be performed right in our
office in a matter of minutes with the health of a sophisticated,
computerized analysis.
This analyzer “calculates” your tissue and fluid compartments-using
an imperceptible electrical current passed through pads place
on one hand and foot as you lie comfortably clothed on an
exam table. In just minutes, we’ll have very accurate measurements
to help create an effective, personalized program to improve
your health status.
Interpreting Your BIA Results
We will go over your results in detail. Briefly, here are
the measurements your BIA will provide:
Phase Angle - Calculated using the measurements
of resistance and reactance, which are indicators of cellular
health independent of weight. Normal values vary with age
and gender.
Body Capacitance - An indicator of the quantity
of healthy cell membranes in the body.
Resistance-Related to body water . Since
more water is stored in fat-free mass, a higher value indicates
healthier, lean tissue.
Reactance - The ability of cells to store
energy (related to body capacitance). A low reactance indicates
a breakdown in cell membranes’ selective permeability. A higher
reactance means healthier cells.
Body Cell Mass - The “living” cells of the
body, such as those found in muscle, organ, blood and immune
cells. Also includes intracellular water (water contained
within your cells).
Extracellular Mass - The amount of water
in your body that is found outside your cells.
Fat-Free Mass - A measure of total nonfat
body compartments (also called lean body mass). Contains most
of the body’s water.
Fat Mass - The amount of stored fat in the
body.
ECM/BCM - Ratio of extracellular mass (ECM)
to body cell mass (BCM). A lower value, indicating a higher
ratio of living to inactive mass, is desirable. Normal values
are near 1.0 (a 50/50 distribution).
Body Mass Index (BMI) - A ratio of weight
to height used as a quick measure of health status. Values
to 19-24 are desirable.
Basal Metabolic Rate - Based on fat-free
mass, the number of calories your body uses each day, not
counting the extra calories you burn through exercise.
Intra-cellular water(ICW) - Water volume
of body cell mass(i.e., water in the “living” cells).
Extra-cellular Water-(ECW) - Water volume
outside the body cell mass(i.e., water in the “inactive” cells).
TBW/Fat-Free Mass - The percentage of fat-free
mass that is water.
TBW/Total Weight - The percentage of total
weight that is water.
Follow-Up Tests
We can conduct a series of follow-up BIA tests to monitor
your health and measures your progress.
CLICK
HERE TO READ ABOUT OUR FIRST LINE THERAPY
|
