Body Composition
The Youth Diagnostics™ program includes body composition testing for every new patient. Body composition testing involves the non-invasive InBody520 machine, which employs Multi-frequency Bioelectrical Impedance to measure the following:
- Weight, BMI, percentage body fat and segmental lean body mass
- Total body water, body fat mass, skeletal muscle mass
- Body shape
- Body balance and body strength
- Recommendations for target weight, fat control and muscle control
- Basal metabolic rate and intracellular and extracellular water ratio as a health indicator
The InBody device functions by applying several frequencies of low-level current to the patient’s arms and legs. This test is more accurate in measuring overall lean body mass (LBM) than other body composition tests, because it uses more than a single frequency and is applied not just to the legs.
The first thing we measure on the InBody scale is the patient’s weight. But weight alone does not reveal a great deal about the health implications of your body composition. It is essential to factor in the patient’s height and body fat percent.
A more familiar and conventional way to adjust the health implications of weight is to calculate Body Mass Index (BMI), which factors in the patient’s height. BMI has its limitations, however, as a very muscular person who is very lean can be considered obese by BMI measurements. The greatest utility for BMI is to determine if a person is underweight and needs to increase their muscle mass. The ratio of muscle to fat is one of the most important determinants of the health of your body composition.
Lean Body Mass (LBM) is calculated by subtracting fat mass from the total body weight. A “normal” LBM will depend on the patient’s height and gender.
Fat Mass (FM) is the total body weight, less the LBM.
Percent Body Fat (%BF) is measured by dividing the FM by the total body weight. Normal ranges are anywhere from 10 to 20% for males and 18 to 28% for females.
Total Body Water (TBW) is made up of all the intracellular and extracellular non-fat weight of your body. When the electric current is applied to your body, lower frequencies travel around the cells while higher frequencies travel through the cells. TBW is what is actually measured to determine LBM.
Intracellular Water (ICW) shows how much of your TBW exists within the cell membranes of your tissues. In young healthy tissues, a greater proportion of TBW resides within the cells.
Extracellular Water (ECW) is calculated by subtracting the ICW from the TBW and measures the portion of TBW outside of your cells as interstitial fluid. As we grow older, more and more of our TBW is outside of our cells. This is also often the case when a patient has a disease.
Extracellular/Total Body Water (ECW/TBW) ratio shows the “quality” of your LBM and is an effective biomarker of aging. Lower ratios indicate a healthier LBM. As a person ages from twenty to eighty five years old, the ratio increases slowly from 0.36 to 0.39, exceeding 0.40 in certain disease states.
The results of your body composition will help our physicians determine the optimal nutritional, supplement, exercise and hormone replacement regimen you need to get fit and improve your body shape. Periodic testing at Youth Diagnostics™ will enable our doctor to monitor your progress.
