In October’s first blog we had some issues with body mass index, BMI. This ubiquitous tool for measuring weight is used to classify each of us as being at a normal, healthy weight or being overweight, obese, or morbidly obese. It’s likely the costs of your health insurance can be directly linked with your BMI.
But BMI stinks as a true measure of what’s going on with a person’s body because it doesn’t allow for variation between body types. And all you need do is look around at the next Falcons game you attend. You won’t see two bodies that are the same. So why measure as if they were?
That’s why we use the InBody body composition analysis system at Beaty Facial Plastic Surgery. Let’s get into some more detail about InBody in this spookiest of blogs on Halloween.
How does InBody work?
Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA) measures impedance by applying alternating low-level electrical currents through the water in the body. Don’t worry — you cannot feel the low-level current. Unlike fat, the muscles in your body contain a high percentage of water. The electrical currents flow through muscle and fat at different rates, and this provides an accurate measurement of each component.
Why is InBody a better test?
- Understand your weight — When you measure your weight, what’s actually adding up? Weight alone is a poor indicator of health because it doesn’t distinguish fat from muscle. The InBody test divides your weight into three sections: water, muscle, and fat.
- Set your goals — BMI has little to do with a person’s health unless they fall in the upper weight categories. Instead, a better measure of health is body fat to weight. This ratio is known as percent body fat. Measuring your percent body fat allows you to improve your health from the inside out so you focus on fat loss, not just weight loss.
- Measure your strength — Do you wonder how much muscle you have on different areas of your body? The InBody test tells you how many pounds of lean mass you have distributed in each portion of your body. This then allows you to focus your exercise and strength targets to get better balanced gains.
- Track your progress — InBody also provides a Body Composition History. Starting from your baseline, InBody continuously tracks your changes every time you are measured. This is a great way to show how things are changing with your efforts.
Ready to start successful weight loss? At Beaty it all starts with an InBody body composition analysis. Call us at (770) 753-0053 to set up an appointment with Dr. Laura Beaty to get started on a new, slimmer you.
