What are the benefits?

SECA Body Fat Test: Accurate measurement of body composition provides valuable information for assessing, monitoring the human body. Most people are used to stepping on a scale from now and then. But monitoring weight – while helpful – is not a precise way of assessing health and fitness progress.

Body composition measurement with the SECA can look beyond weight and the traditional body mass index (BMI) to determine body fat distribution.

What results will I receive?

Your results will include Fat Mass/Fat-Free Mass. Skeletal Muscle Mass. Visceral Fat. Body Composition Chart. Total Body Water/Extracellular Water and much more. See below for a detailed breakdown. See below for a detailed overview.

 What is the test protocol?

Prior to your test, there are a few important things to note:

• It is recommended you complete a two-hour fast prior to your body fat test - this is to ensure accuracy.

• You must not consume alcohol or caffeine four hours prior to the test.

• Attire for the test: Comfortable clothing.
   

What happens during and after the appointment?

Your test administrator will measure your height and weight. You will be asked to stand on the SECA. You will receive a full digital report with your results and analysis within one business day. You will also have the option to schedule a call with out team (free of charge) anytime after your test, as many times as needed. We will work to help you go through your report and stay on track with your progress.

COMPREHENSIVE BODY COMPOSITION ANALYSIS

Fat Mass/Fat-Free Mass

• The medically precise distinction between fat mass and fat-free mass is important when weight changes occur. This is especially true for patients that are overweight, obese and malnourished

• The development of fat mass is thus valuable for weight management, in diabetology, hospital nutrition or general health

• A metabolic unhealthy person with insulin resistance, for example, nearly exclusively loses water when commencing with weight reduction treatments, which is why assessing fat mass individually is so essential to prevent misinterpretations

• Interpreting fat mass is also inevitable in malnourished patients, which can be found in numerous medical fields such as oncology, cardiology, nephrology but also in psychology when it comes to anorexia nervosa or bulimia

• Another interesting area of application for assessing or monitoring fat mass is in the sports medicine field when it comes to determining the fitness level or controlling trainings.

Skeletal Muscle Mass

• The development and retention of skeletal muscle mass plays an important role in malnourished patients, in the area of sports medicine, and in the reduction of body weight. The display shows the individual values for each of the patients’ extremities as well as their torso

• Quantifying muscle mass is essential when monitoring weight changes in overweight and obese subjects

• It is essential that the majority of existing muscle mass is preserved when reducing weight in weight management settings, in diet programs in diabetology, cardiology and hospital nutrition in general

• Especially malnourished patients with sarcopenic and cachectic states - often found in oncology, cardiology, nephrology require an adequate amount of muscle mass to reduce morbidity and mortality. Sarcopenia and cachexia are also found in psychology when it comes to anorexia nervosa or bulimia

• Another interesting area of application for assessing or monitoring muscle mass is in the sports medicine field when it comes to determining the fitness level and controlling trainings, physiotherapies and rehabilitation.

Visceral Fat

• The higher the visceral fat value, the higher the risk of cardiometabolic illnesses. With the seca mBCA, negative trends can be detected early in order to initiate corresponding treatments and therapies

• The easy and quick assessment of visceral fat is an essential brick for estimating the cardiometabolic risk

• It has therefore become an established value especially overweight and obese patients

• The medical fields wanting to obtain visceral fat values are bariatrics, weight management, diabetology, hospital nutrition, cardiology and general health.

Total Body Water/Extracellular Water

• The medically precise assessment of total body water and extracellular water is essential in nephrology to better evaluate the dry weight

• The distribution of fluids detects edema which are often found in cardiology or other fields of internal medicine like pneumology or hepatorenal in nephrology patients, which mostly also require hospital nutrition aid

• In sports medicine the management of fluids is valuable for fluid management to prevent dehydration and maximize individual performance

• The determination of body water also helps to better understand weight loss situations in weight management, diabetes, cardiology or general health where great amounts of water are lost when commencing diets due to for example insulin resistances.

Bioelectrical Impedance Vector Analysis

• Bioelectrical Impedance Vector Analysis (BIVA) delivers information on the amount of body fluids water and phase angle (marker for cell metabolism) at the same time

• It therefore assists to evaluate the hydration status, which is valuable in sports medicine, but also may identify patients with fluid overloads, which are typically found in nephrology or cardiology

• On the other hand it delivers information on the nutritional status and has proven to be valuable in weight management, diabetology, oncology, but also in psychology when it comes to anorexia nervosa or bulimia

• In general health the BIVA readings allows to categorize patients and allows to draw hypothesizes, which can be verified with specific additional tests.

Phase Angle

• Phase angle correlates with the nutritional and functional (metabolic) status of individuals

• A sound nutritional state as well as a healthy metabolism result in a high phase angle value

• It has proven to show disease severity, especially in oncology, nephrology and cardiology and HIV

• Low phase angle results in apparently healthy, young individuals should be followed up by differentiated diagnosis (blood tests, etc.)

• This is important for general health during routine checkups, but also in sports medicine for the detection of exhaustive states

• As low phase angle values also correlate with malnutrition it is an important marker in psychology when it comes to anorexia nervosa or bulimia or in hospital nutrition in general.

Fitnescity does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your doctor or a qualified medical professional if you have any questions about your results.