Accessibility

InBody Body Composition Analysis: What is it and What are the Benefits?

When it comes to health and fitness, tracking your progress is key to achieving your goals. While traditional scales measure only your weight, they don’t tell the full story of your body’s composition—how much of your weight is muscle, fat, or water. That’s where the InBody Portable Body Composition Analyser comes in. This innovative tool offers an in-depth analysis of your body composition, providing essential insights that go far beyond the number on the scale.

Whether you’re aiming to lose weight, build muscle, or improve overall health, the InBody analyser is an essential tool to keep you on track. Here’s everything you need to know about how it works, what it measures, and how it can help you achieve your fitness and wellness goals.

What is the InBody Body Composition Scale?

The InBody analyser is a cutting-edge device that goes beyond just weight measurement. It provides a detailed breakdown of your body’s composition, offering insights into your total body water, muscle mass, fat mass, and more. This information helps you understand what makes up your weight, allowing you to set more accurate and achievable goals.

But before you start, it’s essential to download the InBody app, where your scan results will be sent directly for easy tracking. The app also provides detailed explanations of your readings and sets personalised targets for your next check-in.

How to Prepare for Your InBody Scan

To ensure the most accurate and reliable results, follow these simple pre-scan guidelines:

  • Clothing: Remove your shoes and socks, wear light clothing, and make sure your pockets are empty.
  • Timing: For the best results, it’s ideal to take the scan under the following conditions:
  • After using the toilet
  • After fasting for 3-4 hours
  • Before exercise
  • After standing for at least five minutes
  • After 10-15 minutes of rest
  • You can add as many list items as you want
  • Consistency: Try to take readings at the same time of day to ensure your results are comparable over time.
  • Important considerations: Avoid taking a scan if you have a pacemaker, right after a shower or sauna, while wearing heavy metallic jewellery, or during your menstrual period.

Your First Reading: Setting the Baseline

Your first scan with the InBody analyser serves as a baseline measurement. It gives you an accurate snapshot of where you are currently in your fitness journey. While these results are valuable, the real magic happens after several weeks of following your exercise and nutrition plan. The second reading, typically done 6-12 weeks later, is where you’ll see how your body has responded to your efforts.

Your results will be sent directly to the InBody app, where you’ll receive a full breakdown of key measurements, along with explanations of what they mean and recommendations on how to improve.

Key Readings from Your InBody Scan

The InBody scan provides a comprehensive overview of your body’s composition, broken down into several key areas:

InBody Score:

This is a quick evaluation of your overall body composition, scored out of 100. A score of 80 or above is generally considered healthy. You can improve this score by gaining muscle and reducing body fat over time.

Body Composition Analysis:

  • Total Body Water: The amount of water in your body, an important factor for hydration and overall health.
  • Protein: Essential for muscle building and repair.
  • Minerals: Important for bone strength.
  • Body Fat Mass: The amount of fat stored in your body, both subcutaneous (just under the skin) and visceral (around internal organs).
  • Weight: The total sum of water, protein, minerals, and fat.

Muscle-Fat Analysis:

This section looks at three critical components of your body:

  • Weight: Your overall body weight.
  • Skeletal Muscle Mass (SMM): The weight of the muscle attached to your bones, which can be improved with strength training.
  • Body Fat Mass: A measure of both surface-level and internal fat.

The Muscle-Fat Analysis graph provides a visual comparison of these three components, helping you see if you’re building muscle while reducing fat—a key indicator of progress.

Obesity Analysis:

The InBody scan also includes Percent Body Fat (PBF), a better indicator of health risks related to obesity than Body Mass Index (BMI). Healthy ranges are 10-20% for men and 18-28% for women.

Segmental Lean Analysis:

This feature divides your body into five segments—two arms, two legs, and the trunk—to evaluate if you have enough Fat Free Mass (muscle, bones, water, etc.) in each part of your body. A reading of 100% or more indicates sufficient muscle mass to support your body weight.

Who Can Benefit from the InBody Scan?

The InBody analyser isn’t just for athletes or bodybuilders – it’s valuable for anyone looking to understand their body composition and improve their health. Here’s how different groups can benefit:

  • Sedentary Adults: If you don’t exercise regularly, you may have low muscle mass, particularly in your legs due to prolonged sitting. The scan can identify areas that need improvement.
  • Skinny Fat Individuals: People who may appear lean but actually carry too much body fat and not enough muscle can benefit from understanding their Fat Free Mass and developing a targeted fitness plan.
  • The Elderly: Muscle loss is a common issue with aging, leading to increased risks of falls and fractures. The InBody scan can help older adults track muscle mass and take steps to improve their functional strength.

Start Your Fitness Journey with InBody

Whether you’re aiming to lose weight, build muscle, or just get a better understanding of your health, the InBody Portable Body Composition Analyser is an invaluable tool. It provides a detailed picture of your body’s makeup and helps you track progress, making it easier to set and achieve your fitness goals.

With the insights from the InBody scan, you can create a fitness and nutrition plan that’s tailored to your body’s specific needs. Download the InBody app today, take your first reading, and get ready to unlock your full fitness potential.

InBody body composition scanning is currently available at these sites:

The Chilterns Lifestyle Centre

Newbold Comyn Leisure Centre

Stratford Leisure Centre