When we think of living a healthy lifestyle, we want to create an approach that is not only effective, but sustainable.
A simple tool that is utilized by all the physicians at Avena is the InBody BIA (Bioelectric Impedance Analysis) machine. The use of a BIA machine delivers a comprehensive evaluation of your overall body composition and health. In less than just 60 seconds, an InBody Test can provide comprehensive, accurate, and objective measurements to evaluate your health.
Regular Scale vs. InBody Scan
An average scale only measures a person's weight without taking into consideration what portion of that weight is fat, muscle, water, etc. That's where the InBody machine comes in. The InBody scan takes measurements of: total body weight, skeletal muscle mass, fat free mass(tissues and organs), total body water, and body fat. The BIA scan goes even further by providing breakdowns of segmental muscle mass, showing the difference between each arm and leg and your "trunk" or midsection along with body fat percentages. Additionally, a visceral fat score is given. Visceral fat is the fat deep inside your body around your vital organs.
An average scale only measures a person's weight without taking into consideration what portion of that weight is fat, muscle, water, etc. That's where the InBody machine comes in. The InBody scan takes measurements of: total body weight, skeletal muscle mass, fat free mass(tissues and organs), total body water, and body fat. The BIA scan goes even further by providing breakdowns of segmental muscle mass, showing the difference between each arm and leg and your "trunk" or midsection along with body fat percentages. Additionally, a visceral fat score is given. Visceral fat is the fat deep inside your body around your vital organs.
Why are these values significant?
Early identification is the key to longevity and overall well-being. Having regular InBody tests can provide you with the information you need to track your progress and keep you accountable throughout your health and fitness journey. The above mentioned values provide data that can be interpreted to assist in the following areas:
Early identification is the key to longevity and overall well-being. Having regular InBody tests can provide you with the information you need to track your progress and keep you accountable throughout your health and fitness journey. The above mentioned values provide data that can be interpreted to assist in the following areas:
- Monitor muscle, fat, and visceral fat to provide an accurate measure of health risk.
- Assess muscle distribution to determine your health risks related to disease and frailty.
- Identify fluid imbalances related to specific diseases.
- Track changes for more effective long-term risk identification and reduction.
Taking an individual's weight on a traditional scale and manually calculating their BMI alone, is not a sufficient indication of their level of health. For example, you could have two people who are the same, age, height and weight, but their InBody assessments yield completely different results. In this instance, they would also have different health risks and concerns and would have different priorities when considering their overall well-being and longevity. An area of concern here is visceral fat which is the fat that is actually inside your body, surrounding your organs. This is important because an increase in visceral fat creates elevated risks for issues such as heart disease, cardiovascular issues, diabetes and obesity.
Tracking For Longevity
The modern American lifestyle lacks regular movement/mobility and promotes poor diets that often contribute to muscle imbalances and low levels of dry lean mass. Thankfully, the InBody can help prevent and correct any imbalances by measuring lean body mass in each segment of the body separately, allowing identification of insufficient development or muscular imbalances. This data is extremely useful to the doctor as they are able to hone in on very specific areas of your health and are easily able to monitor progress.
A major indicator of disease is inflammation which often goes undetected. An InBody assessment effectively measures water in the intracellular (ICW; within the tissues) and extracellular (ECW; within the blood and interstitial fluids) compartments that make up total body water (TBW). The ratio between ECW and TBW (ECW/TBW), can be used to distinguish fluid imbalances and it is a link between certain health risks such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity. A high ratio can also point towards acute inflammation from over training or disease progression.
Monitoring changes in total body composition allows doctors to identify trends in an individual's health, notify them of any health risks, and develop prioritized goals to improve body composition and overall health. An additional tool is the Body Composition History chart at the bottom of each scan's analysis for easy continued tracking of vital health factors.
BIA monitoring can aid you in all areas of your health, fitness, and longevity goals. These numbers go far beyond the surface and can provide extensive information so that you may stay on top of your healthy lifestyle.
BIA monitoring can aid you in all areas of your health, fitness, and longevity goals. These numbers go far beyond the surface and can provide extensive information so that you may stay on top of your healthy lifestyle.
Any of our physicians would be more than happy to start guiding you to a long and healthy life. Call to schedule your appointment today!
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