BODY COMPOSITION ANALYSIS
Your body composition is directly related to your health. A normal balance of body fat is associated with good health and longevity. Excess fat in relation to lean body mass, altered body composition, can greatly increase your risks for cardiovascular disease diabetes, and more.
Dr. Dempster, ND refers to Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA) which is a method of assessing a patient’s body composition; the measurement of body fat in relation to lean body mass. It is an integral part of a health and nutrition assessment. BIA is one of the most accurate methods of measuring body fat, muscle, and water and it has been an invaluable tool for patients to aid in weight loss, detoxification, and helping them achieve optimal health.
This non-invasive test simply involves the placement of two electrodes on the patient’s hand and foot. A low level, imperceptible electrical current is sent through the body. The flow of the current is affected by the amount of water in the body. The device measures how this signal is impeded through different types of tissue. Tissues that contain large amounts of fluid and electrolytes, such as blood, have high conductivity, but fat and bone slow the signal down. As BIA determines the resistance to flow of the current as it passes through the body, it provides estimates of body water from which body fat is calculated using selected equations.
Since “fat loss” is the primary goal when people set out to lose weight and “muscle gain” is the goal when people set out to gain weight, Dr. Dempster, ND is able to monitor body composition changes (fat weight vs. lean fat free weight) rather than monitor a patient’s weekly weigh-ins. Rather than feeling frustrated with the scale, health conscious patients are usually very happy to learn of their progress when viewing BIA results.
