Understanding Your Measurements
Tanita monitors bring you fast, accurate body composition results using the latest advanced bio-electrical impedance analysis (BIA) technology first developed by Tanita in 1992. This gives you a true indicator of your inner health and, when monitored over time, can show the impact of any fitness regime or weight loss program.
Body Mass Index (BMI)
A standardised ratio of weight to height, used as a general indicator of health.
Your BMI can be calculated by dividing your weight (in kilograms) by the square of your height (in meters).
BMI is a good general indicator for population studies but has serious limitation when assessing on an individual level.
Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)
The daily minimum level of energy or calories your body requires when at rest (including sleeping) in order to function effectively.
Increasing muscle mass will speed up your basal metabolic rate (BMR). A person with a high BMR burns more calories at rest than a person with a low BMR.
About 70% of calories consumed every day are used for your basal metabolism. Increasing your muscle mass helps raise your BMR, which increases the number of calories you burn and helps to decrease body fat levels.
Your BMR measurement can be used as a minimum baseline for a diet program. Additional calories can be included depending on your activity level. The more active you are the more calories you burn and the more muscle you build, so you need to ensure you consume enough calories to keep your body fit and healthy.
As people age their metabolic rate changes. Basal metabolism rises as a child matures and peaks at around 16 or 17, after which point it typically starts to decrease. A slow BMR will make it harder to lose body fat and overall weight.
Impedance
Impedance reflects the body’s inherent resistance to an electrical current. Muscle acts as a conductor of the electrical current, adipose tissue acts as a resistor.
Body Fat Percentage
Body Fat Percentage is the proportion of fat to the total body weight. Body Fat Mass is the actual weight of fat in your body.
Body fat is essential for maintaining body temperature, cushioning joints and protecting internal organs.
The energy, or calories, our body needs comes from what we eat and drink. Energy is burned through physical activity and general bodily functions. If you consume the same number of calories as you burn, all the calories are converted into energy. But if you consume more than you burn, excess calories are stored in fat cells. If this stored fat is not converted into energy later, it creates excess body fat.
Too much fat can damage your long-term health. Reducing excess levels of body fat has been shown to directly reduce the risk of certain conditions such as high blood pressure, heart disease, type 2 diabetes and certain cancers.
Too little body fat may lead to osteoporosis in later years, irregular periods in women and possible infertility.
It is important to check your body fat results against the Tanita healthy body fat ranges. These measurements are available for everyone from age five to 99 years.
Free Fat Mass (FFM)
Fat Free Mass is comprised of muscle, bone, tissue, water, and all other fat free mass in the body.
Total Body Water (TBW)
Total Body Water is the total amount of fluid in the body expressed as a percentage of total weight.
Water is an essential part of staying healthy. Over half the body consists of water. It regulates body temperature and helps eliminate waste. You lose water continuously through urine, sweat and breathing, so it’s important to keep replacing it.
The amount of fluid needed every day varies from person to person and is affected by climatic conditions and how much physical activity you undertake. Being well hydrated helps concentration levels, sports performance and general wellbeing.
Experts recommend that you should drink at least eight 8-ounce glasses of fluid a day, preferably water or other low calorie drinks. If you are training, it’s important to increase your fluid intake to ensure peak performance at all times.
The average TBW% ranges for a healthy person are:
Female 45 to 60%
Male 50 to 65%
