InBody Scan.
Your weight tells you almost nothing useful. This separates that number into lean mass, body fat, and water, and does it limb by limb rather than as a single whole body figure.
- Segmental analysis of each arm, each leg, and the trunk separately
- Around sixty seconds, standing still and fully clothed
- Exceptionally reliable for tracking change over time
- Repeated through your protocol so composition change is visible
Weight, taken apart.
You stand on the platform holding two handles. A small alternating current passes through your body at several frequencies. Lean tissue holds water and conducts it easily. Fat holds far less and resists. Measuring that resistance lets the device estimate what your weight is actually made of.
Multi frequency matters. Different frequencies penetrate cells differently, which allows the device to distinguish water inside cells from water outside them. Segmental measurement matters too, because a whole body average hides imbalance between one limb and another.
Standing, fully clothed · around sixty seconds
Four numbers that weight hides.
The scale gives you one figure that combines everything. These are the components underneath it, and they frequently move in opposite directions.
Skeletal Muscle Mass
How much muscle you carry, broken down by limb and trunk rather than reported as a single figure. This is the number that matters most for long term function, and the one most likely to decline quietly with age.
- Reported per arm, per leg, and trunk
- Reveals left to right imbalance
- The marker most worth defending as you age
Body Fat
Fat mass in absolute terms and as a percentage of your total. Reported alongside visceral fat, the fat stored around your organs, which carries more metabolic significance than fat stored under the skin.
- Fat mass and percentage, not just a ratio
- Visceral fat estimated separately
- Tracked against lean mass rather than alone
Body Water
Total body water split into the portion inside your cells and the portion outside them. The ratio between the two is used as an indicator of fluid balance, and it is also why hydration status affects your reading.
- Intracellular and extracellular water separated
- Ratio used as a fluid balance indicator
- Explains day to day variation in results
Basal Metabolic Rate
An estimate of the energy your body uses at rest, calculated from your lean mass. Since muscle is metabolically active tissue, this number tends to follow your lean mass rather than your weight.
- Derived from measured lean mass
- Rises and falls with muscle rather than weight
- An estimate rather than a direct measurement
Excellent at change. Good at absolutes.
This distinction is the most important thing to understand about the scan, and most facilities never explain it.
Reliability is very high
Research comparing InBody devices against DXA found intraclass correlation coefficients of 0.98 or higher for body fat percentage and fat mass, and 0.99 or higher for fat free mass. In practical terms the device gives you nearly the same answer every time under the same conditions, which is exactly what tracking requires.
There is a known offset against DXA
Multiple studies report that bioelectrical impedance tends to read body fat percentage lower than DXA, with a roughly three percent offset repeatedly confirmed. Your absolute number is therefore an estimate rather than a criterion measurement, and we will tell you that rather than presenting it as definitive.
Change tracks accurately regardless
A study comparing both methods across a four week intervention found no statistically significant difference between DXA and multi frequency BIA when assessing the change in fat mass, fat free mass, or percent body fat. The offset is systematic, so it cancels out when you compare a scan to your own earlier scan. That is why we care about your trend rather than your first number.
Who should be scanned.
Fast, non invasive, and useful for almost anyone with a goal that involves their body changing.
Anyone whose weight has not moved but who suspects their composition has
People training for strength or hypertrophy who need lean mass tracked
Anyone over forty, where lean mass decline is the thing worth catching early
People in a fat loss phase who want to know what they are actually losing
Anyone starting a protocol here, since this is half the baseline
Not appropriate with a pacemaker or other implanted electronic device
What to expect.
The scan itself takes a minute. Consistency in how you arrive matters more than anything that happens during it.
Preparation
- Ideally fasted, or at least three hours after eating
- Avoid exercise, sauna, or contrast therapy beforehand
- Use the bathroom first and hydrate normally, not heavily
- Remove shoes and socks. Heavy jewellery comes off too
The Scan
- You stand on the platform and hold the two handles
- Stay still with arms slightly away from your sides
- You will feel nothing. The current is imperceptible
- Around sixty seconds from start to result
Your Results
- A printed report, explained rather than handed over
- Segmental breakdown reviewed for imbalance
- Compared against your previous scans where you have them
- Rescanned at defined points through your protocol
Segmental report · explained, not just printed
Stated as measurement, not outcome.
This is an assessment rather than a treatment. What it gives you is information, and its value depends on what gets done with it.
Skeletal muscle mass reported per limb and trunk rather than as one figure
Fat mass and body fat percentage measured rather than estimated from weight
Visceral fat reported separately from subcutaneous fat
Intracellular and extracellular water, and the ratio between them
Basal metabolic rate derived from your measured lean mass
Left to right and upper to lower imbalance made visible
A repeatable baseline with very high test to test reliability
Change over time tracked accurately across a protocol
The other half of the baseline.
VO₂ max tells us what your system can do. This tells us what it is working with. Together they are where every protocol here starts.
We establish the baseline
Scanned alongside your VO₂ max test, under standardised conditions so subsequent scans are genuinely comparable.
We track through the protocol
Typically rescanned at the midpoint and at completion. Composition often moves before performance markers do, which makes this an early signal.
We compare like with like
Same conditions, same time of day where possible. The offset against DXA is systematic, so your own trend line is what carries the meaning.
Validated against the gold standard.
These devices have been compared against DXA and isotope dilution in published studies. Here is what those comparisons actually found.
All three bioelectrical impedance devices were reliable in men and women, with intraclass correlation coefficients of 0.98 or higher for body fat percentage and fat mass, and 0.99 or higher for fat free mass.
InBody analyzers compared with DXA
DXA versus BIA across a four week diet
Validity against DXA and isotope dilution
Reliability, biological variability, and accuracy
Why we quote your trend, not your number
Read together, these papers say something quite specific. The device is highly repeatable, agreeing with itself to within a fraction of a percent. It also reads body fat around three percent lower than DXA, consistently. Because that bias is systematic rather than random, it disappears when you compare your scan to your own earlier scan, which is why change tracked accurately in the four week study. So we will give you your absolute numbers and tell you honestly they are estimates. What we will hold you to is the direction they move.
Questions answered.
How accurate is it really?
Very accurate at detecting change, and good but not perfect at absolute values. Studies consistently find it reads body fat around three percent lower than DXA. Because that offset is systematic, your trend over time is reliable even though your single number is an estimate.
Is it as good as a DEXA scan?
DXA remains the reference standard for absolute body composition. This is faster, involves no radiation, costs less, and can be repeated as often as you like, which makes it better suited to tracking. Research supports using it as a surrogate when DXA is not available.
Why do my results change day to day?
Because the method measures resistance through body water, and your hydration shifts constantly. Food, fluid, exercise, sauna, and time of day all affect it. This is why we standardise conditions and compare like with like rather than reading meaning into a single scan.
Can I do it after training?
You can, but the result will be less comparable. Exercise, sweating, sauna, and contrast therapy all shift fluid distribution. Scanning before those things, ideally fasted, gives you numbers worth comparing.
Is it safe?
Yes for almost everyone. The current is imperceptible and there is no radiation involved. It is not appropriate for anyone with a pacemaker, defibrillator, or other implanted electronic device, and we ask before scanning.
What if my weight has not changed?
That is frequently the most interesting result. People often gain lean mass and lose fat in similar amounts, leaving the scale unmoved while composition has shifted meaningfully. Without this scan that progress is invisible.
Which number should I care about most?
Usually skeletal muscle mass, particularly past forty. Lean tissue is what supports function, metabolic rate, and independence later in life, and it declines quietly unless it is defended. Body fat matters, but it is rarely the number we would prioritise first.
How often should I be scanned?
Typically at baseline, midpoint, and completion of a protocol. Scanning more often than every few weeks mostly measures hydration rather than composition, which is where people misread the data.
Is it included in membership?
Baseline and follow up scans are included within protocols. For members, access depends on your tier, and it can also be booked on its own.
Measurement comes first.
This sits alongside the other measurements that open a protocol.
VO₂ Max Testing
The other half of the baseline. What your system can do, measured directly through gas analysis.
Advanced Longevity Testing
The wider diagnostic picture, from composition through to physician led panels.
Performance
See how this measurement supports the system addressing capacity, output, and durability.
InBody Body Composition Scan at a glance
Your weight tells you almost nothing useful. This separates that number into lean mass, body fat, and water, and does it limb by limb rather than as a single whole body figure.
- ~60 sec
- Scan duration
- 5
- Body segments measured
- Standing
- Non invasive, clothed
- Same day
- Results and explanation
Longevity Gyms · 7030 Hi Tech Drive, Suite 102, Hanover, MD 21076 · 410-858-4086 · Clinical oversight through the Institute for Human Optimization.
Reserve Your Consultation.
Measurement is where your protocol starts. In your consultation we will:
- Understand what you are actually trying to change
- Screen for implanted devices before scanning
- Schedule your baseline scan and VO₂ max together
- Explain what your numbers mean and what they do not
- Build a protocol across the systems that matter for you