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A body composition analyzer will understand the body’s fat and muscle mass. The following article will discuss this in more depth.
Tanita’s body composition meter can give detailed indicators by simply holding the handle forward, staying in the “handle” state thanks to the bioelectric impedance method “. Body composition clock, body composition can easily be obtained by combining information such as height, age, gender, actual body weight and resistance (impedance) of the body.
● Bioelectric impedance method
The method of bioelectric impedance is the method of estimating body composition by applying weak electrical current to the body and measuring the flow (resistance value) of electricity at that time. “There is almost no fat flowing through electricity, but tissues contain a lot of electrolytes like muscles tend to flow.” Muscle tissue is an organization that transmits electricity in the body so it is easy to have different electrical properties (resistance values) depending on its thickness (cross section). The larger the cross-sectional area, the lower the resistance value; The smaller the cross-sectional area, the higher the resistance value. We calculate muscle mass by finding the resistance value found through electricity and the length of muscle tissue (from the pre-entered height) and combining the thickness with the length. We estimate how much fat is attached to the body based on muscle mass with measured weight, and some initial data.
Based on the above principle, you can see that the difference in the electrical properties of the body for people with less fat and more fat, although their height and weight are the same.
· People with high fat (and low muscle mass) ⇒ Large electrical resistance
· People with less fat (and more muscles) ⇒ Low electrical resistance
Because we are analyzing based on the difference in resistance values, we can derive body composition by bringing the handle of the machine forward and keeping it (body weight and electrical value). The output is calculated by setting the impedance).
In fact, the electrical properties of electrolytes in the muscle (electrical conditions) are uneven because of the distinct differences due to age and exercise habits, etc. With the conventional bioelectric impedance method, we cannot grasp the difference of each individual by electricity.
However, in Tanita, we have succeeded in reflecting individual differences in electrolytes thanks to “reactive technology” and “multi-frequency measurement”. By using this technology, Tanita’s body composition meter can measure body composition with greater accuracy than conventional biometric impedance methods.
● Multi-frequency measurement
In living tissue, electric current runs differently depending on its frequency. (Figure 1) When the frequency of electric current entering the body is low, the current flows out of the cell because it cannot penetrate the cell membrane. When the frequency becomes higher, electric current can penetrate the cell membrane and current flows into the cell. By using lines of multiple selective frequencies, detailed information about the cells of living tissue can be obtained, from which more accurate measurements can be made.
Figure 1: Frequency characteristics of living tissue
● Impedance technology
The tissues include extracellular fluids that fill the gap between cells, fluid membranes and cells. Electricity, water in the cell, liquid resistance component (resistance), a membrane is a capacitive component (reactance) – Can see the illustration of an equivalent circuit in Figure 2. By measuring resistance and electricity We have collected information about intracellular fluids, external solutions and cell membranes. In conventional impedance measurements, only numerical values can be obtained at which resistors and resistances are synthesized. From the traditional impedance measurement method in Tanita, we have developed an “impedance technology” for separate measurement for more details on resistance and resistance. It will be possible to capture changes in the cell level of biological tissues by increasing electrical information from biological tissues, analyzing and reflecting individual differences & reducing the effects of change. Moisture throughout the day.
Figure 2: The equivalent circuit model of living tissue
Typically, “DXA method” is often used as a method of measuring body composition accurately. However, when the DXA method acquires detailed data, a very expensive device using X-rays is required to gather information. In addition, because this method can only be measured by specialized research organizations, health organizations, etc., it takes a long time to measure, so it is difficult to use in a common way. At Tanita, by developing a body composition clock based on this DXA method, people can estimate body composition easily and accurately.
● What is DXA method?
DXA method (Dual-energy X-ray absorption measurement) is a method of measuring body composition such as fat, muscle and bone by irradiating the whole body with X-rays of dual energy. This DXA method is widely used in various research areas and is considered to be the most reliable method to measure body composition. (Figures 3 and 4)
Figure 3: Using DXA to measure body composition
● The relationship between body composition index and DXA method
Tanita’s body composition clock operates based on the value of this DXA method. Many measurement data are collected from many ages and genders so that the body composition measurement results are highly correlated with the DXA measurement results, and the algorithm is developed based on this data.
With accurate estimates, we produce highly accurate results from fat mass to muscle mass that other companies can hardly keep up.
Figure 4: Example of DXA measurement results
Correlation chart of body fat and muscle mass in BIA and DXA
