Understand
1. What is body fat percentage? (Applicable age 5 - 99)
Body fat percentage is the amount of body fat as a proportion of your body weight. Reducing excess levels of body fat has shown to reduce the risk of certain conditions such as high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes and cancer.
2. What is total body water percentage? (Applicable age 18 - 99)
Total Body Water Percentage is the total amount of fluid in a person’s body expressed as a percentage of their total weight. Water plays a vital role in many of the body’s processes and is found in every cell, tissue and organ. Maintaining a healthy total body water percentage will ensure the body functions efficiently and will reduce the risk of developing associated health problems. Your body water levels naturally fluctuate throughout the day and night. Your body tends to be dehydrated after a long night and there are differences in fluid distribution between day and night. Eating large meals, drinking alcohol, menstruation, illness, exercising, and bathing may cause variations in your hydration levels. Your body water percentage reading should act as a guide and should not be used to specifically determine your absolute recommended total body water percentage. It is important to look for long term changes in total body water percentage and maintain a consistent, healthy total body water percentage. Drinking a large quantity of water in one sitting will not instantly change your water level. In fact, it will increase your body fat reading due to the additional weight gain. Please monitor all readings over time to track the relative change. Every individual varies but as a guide the average total body water percentage ranges for a healthy adult are:
- Female : 45 to 60%
- Male : 50 to 65%
Note: The total body water percentage will tend to decrease as the percentage of body fat increases. A person with a high percentage of body fat may fall below the average body water percentage. As you lose body fat the total body water percentage should gradually move towards the typical range given above.
3. What is visceral fat rating? (Applicable age 18 - 99)
This feature indicates the rating of visceral fat in your body. Visceral fat is the fat that is in the internal abdominal cavity, surrounding the vital organs in the trunk (abdominal) area. Research shows that even if your weight and body fat remains constant, as you get older the distribution of fat changes and is more likely to shift to the trunk area especially post menopause. Ensuring you, have healthy levels of visceral fat my reduce the risk of certain diseases such as heart disease, high blood pressure, and the onset of type 2 diabetes. The Boditrax Composition Analyzer will provide you with a visceral fat rating from 1 – 59.
Rating from 1 to 12 Indicates you have a healthy level of visceral fat. Continue monitoring your rating to ensure that it stays within the healthy range.
Rating from 13 – 59 Indicates you have an excess level of visceral fat. Consider making changes in your lifestyle possibly through diet changes or increasing exercise.
Note: Even if you have a low body fat rate, you may have a high visceral fat level. For medical diagnosis, consult your doctor.
4. What is basal metabolic rate (BMR)? (Applicable age 18 - 99)
Your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is the minimum level of energy your body needs when at rest to function effectively including your respiratory and circulatory organs, neural system, liver, kidneys, and other organs. You burn calories when sleeping. About 70% of calories consumed every day are used for your basal metabolism. In addition, energy is used when doing any kind of activity however; the more vigorous the activity is the more calories are burned. This is because skeletal muscle (which accounts for approximately 40% of your body weight) acts as your metabolic engine and uses a large amount of energy. Your basal metabolism is greatly affected by the quantity of muscles you have, therefore increasing your muscle mass will help increase your basal metabolism. By studying healthy individuals, scientists have found that as people age, their metabolic rate changes. Basal metabolism rises as a child matures. After a peak at the age of 16 or 17, it typically starts to decrease gradually. Having a higher basal metabolism will increase the number of calories used and help to decrease the amount of body fat. A low basal metabolic rate will make it harder to lose body fat and overall weight.
5. How does Boditrax calculate Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR).
The basic way of calculating Basal Metabolic Rate BMR is a standard equation using weight and age. Boditrax uses in-depth research into the relationship of BMR and body composition giving a much more accurate and personalised reading for the user based on the impedance measurement.
This method has been medically validated using indirect calorimetrics (measuring the breath composition).
6. What is metabolic age? (Applicable age 18 - 99)
This feature calculates your BMR and indicates the average age associated with that type of metabolism. If your BMR Age is higher than your actual age, it is an indication that you need to improve your metabolic rate. Increased exercise will build healthy muscle tissue, which will improve your metabolic age.
You will obtain a reading between 12 and 90. Under 12 will be displayed as “12” and over 90 displayed as “90”.
7. What is muscle mass? (Applicable age 18 - 99)
This feature indicates the weight of muscle in your body. the muscle mass displayed includes the skeletal muscles, smooth muscles (such as cardiac and digestive muscles) and the water contained in these muscles. Muscles play an important role as they act as an engine in consuming energy. As your muscle mass increase, your energy consumption increases helping you reduce excess body fat levels and lose weight in a healthy way.
8. What is Bone Mass? (Applicable age 18 - 99)
This feature indicates the amount of bone (bone mineral level, calcium or other minerals) in the body. Research has shown that exercise and the development of muscle tissue are related to stronger, healthier bones. While bone structure is unlikely to make noticeable changes in a short period, it is important that you develop and maintain healthy bones by having a balanced diet and plenty of exercise. People worried about bone disease should consult their physician. People who suffer from osteoporosis or low bone densities due to advanced age, young age, pregnancy, hormonal treatment or other causes, may not get accurate estimations of their bone mass.
9. What is Fat Mass:
Fat mass is the actual weight of the fat your body weight. Body fat is vital to your basic bodily functions such as regulating body temperature, storing vitamins and cushioning joints. However, too much fat can also damage your health. Reducing excess body fat levels will reduce the risk of certain medical conditions including high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes and cancer.
Check that the fat mass results are within the desirable range following a Bodynamix Analysis.
10. How body fat and total body water readings change
As total body water level changes naturally throughout the day, this may affect body fat percentage readings. First thing in the morning a body will be dehydrated and the fluid in the body will be stored in the central trunk area. As the day progresses, this fluid becomes more evenly distributed and eating and drinking affect total body water levels. Though actual body fat mass will not change during the day, body fat percentage will as total body water changes. Body fat reading could vary by as much as 3-4% in a 24-hour period.
Consistency is the key to using Body Fat Monitor. The best time is in the early evening, before a meal, when hydration levels are more stable. This increases the accuracy of the readings. If it is not possible to use the Boditrax Monitor as this time, agree a time that's convenient and stick to it. Take readings at the same time and under the same conditions each day.
11. Body Mass Index:
BMI is a widely used measure that monitors weight against height. For most adults and ideal BMI is in the range 18.5 to 24.9. If a BMI is 25 or more this indicates an over the ideal weight/height ratio. If a BMI is under 18.5 this indicates under ideal weight for height.
- 25 to 29.9 is overweight
- 30 to 39.9 is obese
- 40 or more is very obese
Check that the BMI result is within the desirable range following a Boditrax Analysis.