What is BIA?

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Table of contents

What are the benefits of a BIA for my gym or training facility?

The seca TRU and the seca 525c measure body composition using bioimpedance analysis. In this method, an imperceptible alternating current is passed through the body and the electrical resistance (impedance) is measured. Muscles conduct the current better, fat worse. The measured resistance can then be used to draw conclusions about the existing tissue in the body.

So that you can be sure that precise values are calculated from the body resistance, we have measured our seca TRU in clinical studies using complex procedures. For muscle mass, for example, the results were compared with whole-body MRI images. The result was that the measurements matched 97%. For you, this means on the one hand that you can determine the muscle mass of exercisers easily and as accurately as with a whole-body MRI, and on the other hand that you always receive precise, reliable and medically usable measurement results.

In addition, the seca TRU offers body composition data from over 3,000 people. This data was also collected in clinical studies and allows you to compare and categorize your measurements. The comparative values take into account height, ethnicity, age and gender. A 65-year-old woman with a height of 1.68 m can therefore compare herself with similar women and thus estimate her measurements more accurately. Because of this accurate and comprehensive validation, seca is the BIA provider trusted by the medical community.

What exactly does bioimpedance analysis measure and how does it support training in the gym?
With a body composition analysis, your customers can see, among other things, how much muscle mass, fat mass and water their body is made up of. If you want to lose weight, work out or live a healthier life, a body composition analysis provides much more meaningful information than just stepping on the scales. You can see at a glance whether you have too much fat mass and/or too little muscle mass and can better assess your progress and achieve your goal more easily.
In progress measurements, you can track together whether the training program is successful.
A measurement shows exactly when fat and muscle mass are in the green, healthy range, taking age, gender and body size into account. By measuring each arm, leg and torso, you can identify muscular imbalances, e.g. legs that are too weak.

Advantages of BIA in the fitness and health sector

What are the benefits of a BIA for my gym or training facility?
A body composition analysis is always a tool that creates a closer connection between the gym and its customers: seeing progress in muscle building or fat reduction shows your customers what they can achieve with their training – and that is extremely motivating for them to continue coming to your gym.
The body composition analysis is also an important incentive for acquiring new customers: imagine you can offer a prospective customer medically validated data that shows exactly what their body composition is like and the associated health risks. In just a few seconds, your potential new member can see their current condition and where their biggest training areas are. Is visceral fat increased, are there muscular imbalances or is muscle mass in the red zone? You pick up people who have never trained before and show them what it’s all about: positively changing body composition through fitness training and creating the perfect conditions for good health.

Can body impedance analysis be easily integrated into my studio system?
Thanks to many partnerships with other manufacturers, the seca TRU can be integrated into various workflows. For example, seca’s body composition analysis currently harmonizes with EGYM, Technogym, Milon and the Magicline and DSB software. Here, exercisers can evaluate their body composition on the EGYM Fitness Hub or the Technogym Kiosk, for example, as well as in the connected apps. The company’s own software solution, the cloud-based seca analytics 125, is also always available and offers insights into the training progress achieved at any time and from anywhere with its member app.
What other extras does the body composition analysis offer my company?
As an additional incentive for interested parties, seca offers you a §20-certified training course, which can be easily integrated into your studio and includes the measurement of the body composition analysis at the start, after four weeks and at the end of the course. The eight-week course teaches participants how to maintain or regain their strength and flexibility. As the course is up to 100% reimbursable by health insurance companies, you can make interested parties a training offer even if they are not yet members and convince them of the quality of your studio.
One of the great advantages of our digital integration into the studio is also the possibility of independent self-measurement and evaluation by members. Show your customers that they can use the seca TRU at any time for progress measurements to monitor their training progress. The seca TRU should be freely accessible in the training area for this purpose. For example, members can identify themselves on the seca TRU using their RFID badge, use their measurement quota and pay automatically if necessary. All this without any additional work for the trainers.

Procedure & interpretation of the measurement

What do my customers need to consider before the measurement?
For comparable measurement results, comparable measurement conditions must always prevail, as bioimpedance analysis is a sensitive measurement method. If you measure yourself one time before a sumptuous lunch and the other time directly afterwards, your measurement will be falsified. So always keep the following in mind for precise and comparable measurements with your customers:

– It is best to always measure at the same time (e.g. in the morning after breakfast).
– Initially always measure your height and then only use this measured value.
– It is best to take the measurement before a meal or a few hours after.
– Do not drink large quantities before the measurement and empty the bladder before the measurement. Alcohol should be avoided 12 hours before the measurement.
– Always measure before training. Never measure after or during training. Likewise, no intensive training should have taken place the day before.
– Illnesses and medication can affect the measurement.
– The menstrual cycle should be taken into account when choosing the time of measurement. Water retention can occur during or shortly before menstruation, which can affect the measurement results.