Transforming Your Body with a Body Composition Machine
Have you ever stepped on the scale and gained three pounds and not know why? Or weigh the same but had trouble zipping up your jeans?  Chasing a number on the scale can be a lesson in frustration, this is why knowing your body composition and what you are made up of can be an invaluable tool that can put you back in charge of your health and weight loss goals. Unlock Your Body’s Potential By Using a Body Composition Machine If you are looking to get into shape and reach your fitness goals, the information from a body composition machine is the key and will help take your nutrition and workout regimes to the next level.  Knowing your body composition can be incredibly valuable when it comes to creating an effective and personalized fitness routine and diet plan. With the help of a body composition machine, you can get a detailed analysis of your body’s structure and composition.  In this article, we will look at why knowing your body composition is critical and how a body composition machine will help you transform your body for good.  What is a Body Composition Machine? When it comes to our health, knowledge is power. That’s why you should understand exactly what a body composition machine can do and how it works. A body composition machine is an incredible tool that can measure your body fat percentage, lean mass, muscle mass, and more! Let’s break down what a body composition machine is and how it works.  Definition of Body Composition Before we dive into the specifics of body composition machines, let’s start with the basics. The term “body composition†refers to the ratio of fat to lean tissue in your body. In other words, it measures how much of your weight is made up of fat versus lean muscle mass. This measurement can be an important indicator for overall health and fitness levels because having too much or too little fat can increase your risk for certain conditions like heart disease, high blood sugar or metabolic syndrome.  Types of Body Composition Machines There are three main types of body composition machines available on the market today— ADP (Air Displacement Plethysmography) machines, BIA (Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis) machines, and DEXA (Dual Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry) machines. High end BIA machines and ADP machines both can have 95-98% accuracy vs the DEXA machine. ADP Machines measure body volume by measuring how much air is displaced when a user steps inside an airtight chamber full of water (known as the Bod Pod (R)). The appointment times tend to be long for the user to change and perform the test.  BIA machines use thousands of electrical signals to measure your body’s resistance to current passing through your cells. Some of these machines are used in fitness centers and gyms because they are relatively easy to set up and use. More accurate and sophisticated BIA machines are found in hospitals like the Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, professional sports team facilities, and high end medical and nutrition clinics.  The DEXA machines use low doses of radiation to measure the amount of fat in your body by scanning different parts of your anatomy using X-rays. Because they require more setup time, these are usually found in hospitals where trained technicians operate them safely.  How Body Composition Machines Work Now that you know what types of machines are available, let’s talk about how they work. Both BIA and DEXA machines use sophisticated methods for measuring your body’s fat content as well as muscle mass, bone density, and more.  BIA machines work by sending small electrical signals through your cells which then measure how quickly that signal moves through them; since fat has higher resistance than muscle tissue does, it takes longer for the signal to move through fatty cells than those that contain mostly lean tissue. DEXA machines use X-ray beams to scan different areas to obtain measurements of where all that extra weight is coming from.  Understanding Your Body Composition What Are the Differences Between Body Weight and Body Composition? Scale weight and body composition are two different measurements related to a person’s physical health and fitness. Scale weight refers to the total weight of a person’s body, which includes their bones, muscles, organs, and fat. It is a simple measurement that can be easily obtained using a bathroom scale. However, scale weight alone is not an accurate measure of someone’s overall health and ideal physique. It does not provide information about the distribution of body mass, and it cannot distinguish between different types of body tissue, such as fat, muscle, and water. While scale weight is a simple and easily obtainable measurement, it does not provide a complete picture of a person’s physical health and fitness. Body composition, on the other hand, provides a more accurate assessment of a person’s overall health and when interpreted correctly by a trained healthcare practitioner, can be used to create targeted diet and exercise plans to improve their physical fitness, reduce their risk of health problems and optimize their weight loss goals.  Why is Body Composition Important to Obtain Optimal Health and Weight Loss? Measuring body composition is important because it provides a more accurate picture of a person’s overall health and fitness.  For example, a person with a low-scale weight may appear healthy, but if they have a high percentage of body fat, they may be at risk for health problems such as heart disease, diabetes, inflammation, and other chronic conditions.  In contrast, a person with a high scale weight who has a high percentage of lean tissue, and a low percentage of body fat may be in excellent physical condition. What Are Key Metrics Measured By Body Composition Machines? Body composition machines measure key metrics including BMI (Body Mass Index) (or Body Mass Index), percent of body fat, visceral fat rating (which measures belly fat), metabolic age (an estimate of how old or young your metabolism is functioning), and lean