Do you know your body fat %, skeletal muscle %, total body water % and bone weight? True Balance will test all of these on your initial exam. You can also come to the clinic and monitor your scores to see improvements to your health!
Here is a brief explanation of Body Composition Testing results from the EatSmart Digital Body Scale...
Body Fat is a vital measurement of your overall health and fitness. A normal body fat level varies with age, activity level, and gender. For example, it is normal for women to record up to 10% higher values than men. It is important to monitor your body fat as health problems can arise from either having too little or too much body fat.
Male
Age Low Optimal Moderate High
20-29 <13 14-20 21-23 >23
30-39 <14 15-21 22-24 >24
40-49 <16 17-23 24-26 >26
50-59 <17 18-24 25-27 >27
60+ <18 19-25 26-28 >28
Female
Age Low Optimal Moderate High
20-29 <19 20-28 29-31 >31
30-39 <20 21-29 30-32 >32
40-49 <21 22-30 31-33 >33
50-59 <22 23-31 32-34 >34
60+ <23 24-32 33-35 >35
Total Body Water is the amount of fluid in a person's body expressed as a percentage of their total body weight. Approximately 45-65 percent of your body weight is water. Water plays a vital role in your body and is found in every cell, organ and tissue. In order to achieve reliable results over a period of time that help you to evaluate your progress, we strongly recommended consistent measuring conditions.
Male
Age Low Normal High
10-15 <58 58-72 >72
16-30 <53 53-97 >67
31-60 <47 47-61 >61
61-81 <42 42-56 >56
Female
Age Low Normal High
10-15 <57 57-67 >67
16-30 <47 47-57 >57
31-60 <42 42-52 >52
61-81 <37 37-47 >47
Note: The best time for obtaining an accurate reading of your % Total Body Water is the early evening, before your meal. This is when your hydration level will be more stable.
Readings in the morning will show lower levels of hydration because the majority of fluid in your body will be stored in the central torso area. As the day progresses, the fluid becomes more evenly distributed through the limbs, increasing the accuracy of the readings.
Other factors which can affect your hydration level and accuracy of the readings include:
- Temperature
- The amount of exercise performed during the day
- Menstruation
- Medical conditions and medications
- Alcohol
- Caffeine
- Bathing patterns
Muscle Mass plays an important role in overall health because muscle acts as the body's engine in consuming calories. As you exercise more, your muscle mass increases thus helping you reduce body fat and lose weight the healthy way.
Additionally, increased muscle mass accelerates the rate at which calories are burned. Muscle uses energy while fat simply stores it. The more muscle mass you have, the more energy you will burn and maintaining a healthy body weight will become easier.
As a general guideline, the % muscle mass will range between 25% and 75%.
Male
Age Average
10-80 >40%
Female
Age Average
10-80 >34%
Bone Mass indicates the weight of non-living bone mineral in the body. This should not be confused with bone density which your doctor monitors in regards to Osteoporosis.
While bone structure is unlikely to undergo a noticeable change in a short period, it is important that you develop and maintain healthy bones by following a healthy diet and a routine exercise program.
The bone mass reading on your scale will range anywhere from 4 lbs. - 8.5lbs. It is important not to focus solely on this number but to keep an eye on long term trends. With increasing age, you can expect to have a lower bone mass relative to overall body weight.
Note: The sum of your percentage body fat, total body water and muscle mass will not equal 100%. A large component of your muscle mass is water therefore these two parameters overlap.