Bariatrics

Enhance the success of weight management program.

Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis device that is ARTG Registered.
Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods (ARTG) #207297

Why is body composition analysis an effective tool for bariatrics programs?

Body composition is essential for understanding the patient’s physiological makeup and guiding targeted therapies to enhance the success of weight management programs. InBody devices are non-invasive and convenient, making it the ideal tool to implement into clinical practice. The InBody test provides comprehensive results that can be used to educate and engage the patient as well as track health improvements throughout patient interventions.

In less than 60 seconds, the InBody test provides easy-to-understand, precise, and objective measurements to evaluate health risks and monitor progress.

Disclaimer: InBody devices should be used as an adjunct tool for clinical decision making and are not intended to diagnose or treat any diseases.

Assess muscle-fat balance and visceral fat for comprehensive health risk assessments

Identify fluid imbalances related to inflammation or underlying disease

Monitor changes to determine efficacy of treatments and further guide health recommendations to ensure long-term success

Validation Studies

Coleman et al., 2015

“…minimising lean mass loss is an important health and safety consideration in order to maintain strength and physical function and also to maximise basal metabolic rate for long-term weight maintenance.”

Kim et al. 2011

“…percentage body fat has been recommended for use in epidemiologic research on adiposity rather than BMI and other anthropometric measures.”

Pan et al., 2017

“Body composition measurements can provide information on fat, muscle content, and basal metabolic rate, which can be used for weight loss programs and follow-ups.”

Visceral & Segmental Fat Analysis

Assess fat distribution to tailor diet & exercise programs

Current methods for body weight assessment do not provide insight into the physiological makeup of the patient, which may limit tailoring treatments and interventions. Body composition allows bariatric specialists to create targeted treatment plans for each individual patient.

By assessing the balance between muscle and fat composition allows specialists to identify cardiometabolic risks more appropriately as well as identify those who carry an imbalance in muscle and fat mass. Patients with low muscle mass in conjunction with excess fat mass (sarcopenic obesity) are at increased health risks and require different diet and exercise programs to prevent loss of muscle and improve functional status.

The distribution of fat mass also impacts health risk – Segmental Fat Analysis provides a better overall insight into fat distribution. Visceral Fat Area provides an indication of the fat most associated with cardiometabolic health risks, affording more precise tools for identification of risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, etc.

Segmental Lean Analysis

Assess patient frailty status & functional mobility risk

Obesity accompanied by low levels of lean mass, particularly in the legs, can increase risk of falls that can result in frailty, limited functional capacity, and/or reduced quality of life. Segmental measures allow for precise analysis of lean body mass distribution to help the clinician assess risks associated with reduced lean mass.

The Segmental Lean Analysis (SLA) section can quickly assess a patient’s frailty status and functional mobility risk. By segmenting the body, areas of low lean mass can be identified and targeted for improvement, helping reduce risk of falls and/or injuries. The top bar of the SLA provides an objective measure of lean body mass, while the bottom bar incorporates an in-depth analysis into:

  • The ability of a particular segment to support the patient’s overall body weight and
  • Identify insufficient lean development in particular body segments.

Identifying areas of low lean mass can help tailor more specific programs to improve patient outcomes such as functional status and quality of life both before and after bariatric surgery. By correcting areas of weakness this will not only help the patient’s health but improve lifestyle as well.

Segmental ECW/TBW Water Analysis

Detect fluid imbalances resulting from systemic inflammation

Obesity is often accompanied by hormonal and other physiological changes resulting in inflammation or fluid retention (edema). However, current diagnostic markers of fluid balance are imprecise and time-consuming. InBody provides objective measures for monitoring whole-body and segmental fluid balance.

InBody effectively distinguishes water in the intracellular (ICW; within the tissues) and extracellular (ECW; within the blood and interstitial fluids) compartments that make up total body water (TBW). The Edema Index, based on the ratio between ECW and TBW (ECW/TBW), can be used to detect fluid imbalances resulting from systemic inflammation that is commonly associated with obesity.

Furthermore, it can be used to track changes in fluid balance and improvements in patients post-surgery. Additionally, this marker can help identify sustained inflammation linked to circulation issues or post-surgical complications. Evaluating ECW/TBW, physicians have the ability to identify changes in weight resulting from changes in body composition and/or fluid imbalance; this ability to track changes precisely allows for improved health outcomes for each individual patient.

Body Composition History

Track changes in muscle, fat & fluid balance for targeted treatment

Weight and BMI are not appropriate measures to track health improvements through interventions. Rather than simple weight loss, track changes in body composition for a more comprehensive analysis of health improvement.

Weight loss or changes in BMI do not capture the composition of weight lost. With simple weight reduction, patients tend to lose muscle or excess water along with fat mass. In order to ensure proper weight loss and improvements in long-term health, tracking changes in muscle, percent body fat, and fluid balance key for adjusting/developing customised treatments. Changes in muscle-fat balance as well as lean and fat mass distribution can also be tracked from test to test in the Body Composition History section to confirm patient progress with exercise, diet, or drug therapies as well as surgical interventions. With a comprehensive assessment of body composition, bariatric specialists will be able to educate and set treatment plans with each patient to produce better motivation and success.

Why do bariatric surgeons trust InBody?

Biometric data is gathered by InBody’s four core technologies to deliver quick, non-invasive and precise results. These technologies allow you to trust that the results reflect your patients’ true health from the inside out.

Multiple frequencies

InBody uses multiple frequencies to provide a precise analysis.

By using several different frequencies, more resistance values are attained, providing more information during the analysis. The InBody 970 uses 8 frequencies to measure each segment of the body, providing a total of 30 separate impedance values.

Electrical currents have a different penetration force depending on the frequency. Low frequencies measure the water outside the cell (extracellular water), as they are unable to penetrate the cell wall.  Higher frequencies will measure the water content inside the cell (intracellular water) because it penetrates the cell wall.

By using a diverse set of frequencies, the InBody can measure water contents inside and outside the cell separately. Controlling the path of high frequency waves is very difficult. This technical know-how is an InBody specific specialty and has been accumulated over many years of experience in the field.

8-Point Tactile Electrode System

When measuring impedance through any type of electrode, contact resistance occurs. It is important to control the contact resistance, in order to correctly measure the resistance in the body.

The 8-point tactile method separates the current and voltage starting point. This measurement always begins at a fixed point in the wrists and ankles. This is advantageous, as the contact resistance from the skin has been removed. This creates the high precision of reproducing the results that InBody are renowned for.

Measuring the body parts individually

The technical term for this is Direct Segmental Multi-frequency Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (DSM-BIA). It separately measures the impedance (resistance to alternating electric currents) of the trunk, arms, and legs of our body.

This new measurement concept measures the resistance of the cross point of two flows and takes the resistance values of the arms, legs and the body trunk.

Why is this important? The human body is composed of five cylinders: the arms, legs and trunk. With the technology of the InBody, the trunk is directly measured. The trunk is occupied by various internal organs and its metabolic characteristics are different from the other parts of the body. Although difficult, it is important to precisely and directly measure the trunk, since the trunk has very low resistance compared to the arms and legs.

No Statistical Data Needed

InBody is the only BIA device that measures body composition without relying on age and gender to make assumptions about your measurement. The results are extremely precise, and as unique as the person standing on the device.

InBody provides individualised result for better tracking of progress to help you achieve your goals. You can change your age and/or gender on an InBody device and your measurement will not change because you have not changed.

This is one of the underpinning reasons why InBody is used around the world in extensive studies and utilised by top sports people, medical institutions and NASA.

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