Welcome everyone to another edition of the Doctor’s Note where we talk about what’s on our minds when it comes to your health.
Today’s focus is on the InBody 570 Composition Analyzer. This machine is a quick way to measure your fat mass, muscle mass, body water, basal metabolic rates, and more! It is the perfect addition to our nutrition and weight loss programs, which is why I wanted our nutrition coach, Lucas Schmidt, to join me on the podcast.
In today’s Note, we will cover WHAT the InBody 570 can do for you, and HOW the actual process works. But I know that seeing helps believing, so I encourage you to check out the video DEMO at the end of this article.
Let’s get started…
The InBody 570 Composition Analyzer
To be honest, I didn’t really know much about the InBody 570 until Dr. Brett Osborne brought it to my attention on the podcast Muscle and Longevity (timestamp 30:54). We were discussing the battle with belly fat, and he said the InBody scan was the way to go. It answers the questions both doctors and patients need to know in determining the best plan for longevity.
Questions such as:
- How much visceral fat (the worst kind of fat that surrounds your organs) do you have?
- How much muscle do you have? Remember you lose muscle as you age.
- Are you losing muscle when you take Ozempic for weight loss? It’s possible and needs to be monitored!
- What’s your body fat percentage?
- What’s your basal metabolic rate?
The InBody scan provides the information we need…
- Intracellular water
- Extracellular water
- Dry lean mass
- Body fat mass
- Muscle-fat analysis
- Obesity analysis
- Segmental lean analysis
- ECW-TBW Analysis
- Body Composition History
- Body Fat-Lean Body Mass control
Other values include:
- Segmental Fat Analysis
- Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)
- Visceral Fat Levels
We do a lot of weight loss and hormones in our offices. The InBody 570 can show us where a patient is, where we need to go, and measure the progress along the way. Thanks to my conversation with Dr. Osborn, we have two InBody 570 machines now located in Performance Medicine Johnson City and Performance Medicine Knoxville.
How Does It Work?
The InBody 570 uses electrical currents called bioimpedance. As you will see in the DEMO below, you begin by standing barefooted on the platform, then you grip the side handles (sensors) on the machine, and then let the InBody take over from there. The machine passes electrical currents through your body and from those signals the machine determines how much of what tissue weighs, what’s the makeup of your body, etc.
The InBody gives you reference ranges with its own recommendations based on InBody’s standard. The results come in categories. A few that Lucas mentioned in the DEMO were:
DRY MASS – Bones. Note: This is not a DEXA scan for bone density, but it’s about 93 percent as accurate as a DEXA scan for bone mass. It’s an easy way to see if your bone mass is declining.
MUSCLE MASS – Categorized in intracellular and extracellular water. Muscle tissue holds water. Fat tissue cannot hold water because fat is buoyant. For example, if you put a few drops of olive oil in water, they separate. They float. The body is kind of similar. Using electrical currents, it’s able to tell what’s what.
Note 1: The InBody measures how much muscle you have in each arm, trunk, and each leg. If you’re recovering from rotator cuff surgery or hip fracture, it tells how much progress you’re making in building that muscle back. You need to be symmetrical. If you have a lot of muscle in your legs, but none in your arms, you need to work on your arms.
Note 2: If you’re losing weight AND muscle, while on a medication like Ozempic, you may need to take protein, creatine, or something like perfect aminos.
WATER WEIGHT – How much water retention you’re having is important, especially for hormonal females. It can almost predict infection and inflammation.
VISCERAL FAT – Fat around the organs. To me, this is probably the most important thing this machine does. It’s the fat you can’t measure with calipers. This is the type of fat that I like to call an “inflammatory organ” because if you have a lot of visceral fat, your body is just an inflammatory machine. It’s very hard on your heart, liver, kidneys, and brain. On the results page, a 10 is the average mid range for visceral fat. Anything above 10 is too high, and the lesser, the better.
BASAL METABOLIC RATE – At complete rest, how many calories do you need to sustain yourself? The InBody calculates your basal metabolic rate. With this information you can also calculate what is called Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE). Check out Lucas’ podcast on calculating TDEE. This is important because you want to raise your basal metabolic rate. This is your metabolism! If it’s low, that’s not good, and we need to find out why (thyroid, etc.).
Final Note: The general recommendation for most of our patients in office is to INCREASE MUSCLE MASS. If you start working on increasing muscle mass, you can burn more fat (make yourself stronger), and increase your basal metabolic rate.
Closing Instructions
Go get an InBody scan and see where your body health is! You will find that..
- It’s quick – takes about 30 seconds
- Non-invasive – just take off your shoes, socks, watch, jewelry
- User-friendly – the screen talks you through each step (accompanied by relaxing music during scan), and
- When the scan is complete, the machine sends the information to a preformatted printout that you get to take home immediately.
I’m so excited about this machine. I’ve always wanted an accurate way to measure body fat percentages and basal metabolic rates, and the InBody 570 goes way beyond that! It’s extremely accurate, and it’s FREE with any of our nutrition, hormone, or weight loss appointments. Check out the video DEMO to see my results!
Note: For more accurate results, come in fasting (ideally no alcohol the night before). You can have one cup of coffee, but that’s it. DON’T GET ON THE INBODY if you have a pacemaker or are pregnant.
Stay educated. Stay healthy.
Till next week.
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