Bio-Electrical Impedance Analysis (BIA)

What is Bio-Electrical Impedance Analysis (BIA)?

Bio-electrical Impedance Analysis or Bioimpedance Analysis (BIA) is a method of assessing your body composition: the measurement of body fat in relation to lean body mass. It is an integral part of a health and nutrition assessment.

Research has shown that body composition is directly related to 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. BIA allows for early detection of an improper balance in your body composition, which fosters earlier intervention and prevention. BIA also provides a measurement of fluid and body mass that can be a critical assessment tool for your current state of health.

Since fat loss is the goal when people set out to lose weight, and muscle gain is the goal when people set out to gain weight, the nutritionists of "Healthy Directions" monitor body composition changes (fat weight vs. lean fat-free weight) rather than monitor people with weekly weigh-ins. Rather than feeling frustrated with the scale, health conscious people are usually very happy to learn of their progress when viewing BIA results.

How Does BIA Work?

This non-invasive test simply involves the placement of two electrodes on the person's right 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.