BIA, Bioelectric Impedance Analysis | The Thrive Clinic

Bioelectric Impedance Analysis

What is BIA?

Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA) is a method of measuring impedance by applying alternating electrical currents to a user to measuring their volume of water through impedance values.

This non-invasive method involves the placement of electrodes on a person’s feet, hands, or both. A low-level electrical current is sent through the body, and the flow of the current is affected by the amount of water in the body. BIA devices measure how this signal is impeded through different types of tissue (muscle has high conductivity but fat slow the signal down).

As BIA determines the resistance to flow of the current as it passes through the body, it provides estimates of body water from which body fat is calculated using selected equations.

What is InBody?

At the Thrive Clinic, we use an InBody Body Composition Analyzer to perform these measurements.

The InBody range of body composition analyzers are the only Bioelectrical impedance machines with 98% correlation to the DEXA scan across a broad range of population including children, elderly, athletes and obese people to name a few.

In less than 60 seconds, an InBody scan can provide easy-to-understand, accurate, and objective measurements of your body composition.

What is body composition?

Conversations on diet and fitness tend to focus on the amount of weight that we want to gain and lose. What they fail to consider is that two people of the same sex and body weight may look completely different from each other because they have a different body composition. Body composition describes the amount of fat, bone, water, and muscle in the body. Measuring your body composition will tell you your own body’s unique makeup and help you identify areas to work on to improve your overall health and wellness.

What are the benefits?

By knowing your body composition you can: 

  • Find your baseline so you know what you need to lose, gain, or maintain
  • Assess your Percent Body Fat so you can focus on fat loss, not just weight loss
  • Maximize your workout routine to fit your unique health and fitness goals
  • Calculate your caloric needs and create a personalized nutrition plan
  • Set realistic goals, accurately monitor progress, and stay motivated
  • Make more educated decisions to improve your body composition

These InBody scans are performed by our health coach and reviewed during health coaching consultations.