Body fat scales use bioelectrical impedance analysis bia to estimate the relative percentages of different tissues and substances within the body. Most body water is stored in muscle. When you step on the scale a small electrical current runs up through your leg and across your. Bia or bioelectrical impedance analysis is a non invasive measurement of body fat lean muscle mass and hydration. Such scales work with the help of sensors underneath your feet that use bioelectrical impedance. A small current is used to measure the resistance at difference frequencies against the various tissues in the body eg fatlipid has a high resistance to the flow of current therefore shows a high impedance reading.
Since the advent of the first commercially available devices. Now lets talk about bia. Body circumference measurements and body fat scales that use bioelectrical impedance are both methods you can do on your own. In part 1 of this series you learned about how body fat testing is a prediction not a measurement. In part 2 you learned about underwater weighing and in part 3 you learned about the bod pod. 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.
In bia a weak electric current flows through the body and the voltage is measured in order to calculate impedance of the body. However the convienience of this method comes at a price of accuracy. Bia sends a weak electrical impulse through the. While not as accurate as skinfold measurements taken by a trained. Bioelectrical impedance bia bia is one of the quickest and easiest methods for predicting body fat. Bioelectrical impedance analysis is a commonly used method for estimating body composition in particular body fat and muscle mass.