Body Composition Assessment

The scale tells you one number and hides everything interesting inside it. Two people at the same weight can have entirely different amounts of muscle and fat, and the same person can lose fat and gain muscle over months while the scale barely moves.

A body composition assessment breaks that number down into its components. The measurement itself takes only a few minutes, is completely non-invasive, and there is no recovery or downtime — you leave with the numbers and an explanation of what they mean for what you are trying to do.

This is the part that decides whether the assessment is useful or a waste of your money.

Body composition readings are sensitive to how hydrated you are, what and when you last ate and drank, whether you have just trained, and the time of day. A single reading taken under one set of conditions and compared against another taken under different ones produces a difference that means nothing at all.

So we take the measurement under consistent conditions and read the trend across repeated assessments. Two readings taken properly six weeks apart tell you more than ten taken whenever you happened to be passing.

It is a measurement and a reference point. Used properly it tells you whether a training or nutrition change is doing what you hoped, and it is particularly useful for showing progress that the scale is hiding — muscle gained while fat is lost.

It is not a diagnosis and it is not a health screen. It does not tell you about your blood, your organs or your risk of anything, and a good-looking body composition result does not mean the rest is fine. If a broader picture is what you want, our wellness and health assessment is the page for that.

One practical note: if you have a pacemaker or another implanted electronic device, tell us before the measurement, as this affects which method is appropriate.