When you step on the scale an electrical current passes through one leg up to the pelvis and down the other. Body fat percentage scales use a method known as bioelectrical impedance bia to estimate your body composition.
Body Composition In Sport Bia Adam Virgile Sport Science
Impedance measurement body fat. When you step on the scale a small electrical current runs up through your leg and across your. Here is an example of a 7 site skinfold assessment. How accurate are body fat scales. Body fat adipose tissue causes greater resistance impedance than fat free mass and slows the rate at which the current travels. In bia a weak electric current flows through the body and the voltage is measured in order to calculate impedance of the body. They run a light electrical current through your body measure the degree of resistance or impedance to the flow of the current then use this information to estimate your body fat percentage 2.
Body circumference measurements and body fat scales that use bioelectrical impedance are both methods you can do on your own. Since the advent of the first commercially available devices. Bioelectrical impedance analysis is a commonly used method for estimating body composition in particular body fat and muscle mass. Bia sends a weak electrical impulse through the. Body fat scales use bioelectrical impedance analysis bia to estimate the relative percentages of different tissues and substances within the body. Bioelectrical impedance bia bia is one of the quickest and easiest methods for predicting body fat.
While not as accurate as skinfold measurements taken by a trained. Measurement errors can range from 355 body fat 3. According to the acsm bioelectric impedance analysis bia works by passing a low intensity electric current through the body and measuring its resistance. Body fat scales use technology called bioelectrical impedance analysis bia. In part 1 of this series you learned about how body fat testing is a prediction not a measurement. The faster the current travels from one lead to another the more muscle and less fat the person has.
Summary estimating body fat percentage with skinfold calipers is. Therefore if a person is more muscular there is a high chance that the person will also have more body water which leads to lower impedance. However the convienience of this method comes at a price of accuracy. Most body water is stored in muscle. Such scales work with the help of sensors underneath your feet that use bioelectrical impedance. Bioelectrical impedance analysis bia is a method for measuring body composition based on the rate at which an electrical current travels through the body.
Now lets talk about bia. In part 2 you learned about underwater weighing and in part 3 you learned about the bod pod.
Gallery of Impedance Measurement Body Fat
