Are InBody Scans More Accurate Than Weight Scales?
Key Takeaways
- The number on the scale doesn’t tell the full story. Body composition (muscle, fat, and water) is a more meaningful way to track fitness progress.
- Gaining muscle can increase your weight, even as your overall health and physique improve.
- Tracking body composition over time can be more motivating and help guide smarter adjustments to your fitness and nutrition plan.
- InBody technology is still evolving, and long-term health should also focus on proven markers like blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar.
If you’re looking to get fit and shed some pounds, here’s something you should know: Watching your weight—that single number on the bathroom scale—is one of the worst ways to track your progress.
Since muscle weighs more than fat, getting more toned through exercise can make you gain weight, even if you’re watching what you eat. That can be discouraging and throw you off your game plan.
Registered dieticians and fitness trainers use several tools to get a more accurate, useful picture of your health and fitness. One of their favorites is the InBody scanner, a device that measures a client’s overall weight plus the percentage of muscle mass, body fat, and water.
“Some people may find that using tools like this can be motivating," said Holly Russell, MD Family Medicine Physician with University of Rochester Medicine. "The science around motivation shows that long-term behavior change is often driven by our values. Health, longevity, quality time with the people we love, and being able to move our bodies in ways that feel joyful and strong are often powerful long-term motivators for physical activity.”
How Accurate Is an InBody Scan?
A bathroom scale that measures pounds and/or body fat can be off by a lot, depending on how it’s calibrated, its error tolerance, time of day you use it (people tend to weigh more at night), and even the surface it sits on. But an InBody scanner, when used consistently and correctly, is considered a more accurate and thorough device for measuring body composition. In addition to giving you your total weight, it measures the muscle/fat/water content in each arm and leg and in the torso.
How Does an InBody Scan Work?
The InBody device looks like a bathroom scale with arm extensions. The base’s sensors touch the bottom of your feet; you hold the extensions in your hands, and sensors touch your fingertips.
A harmless, painless electrical current—so minimal you can’t feel it—runs from the device through your body to measure the resistance it encounters. Based on the current’s flow, the device calculates the percent of muscle, fat, and water in each limb and the torso.
The InBody scanner provides a detailed printout of body composition, obesity analysis, comparison to body weight norms, and more.
At University of Rochester Medicine Fitness Science program, the device stores your data confidentially so you and your trainer or dietician can take follow-up scans and chart the changes over time.
InBody Technology is Still New
Family Medicine physician Dr. Holly Russell says: Because the technology for the body scans is relatively new, we do not have a lot of research about the application of this data into clinical practice and how it may improve long-term health for people. We know that monitoring and improving levels of blood pressure, cholesterol and fasting blood sugars are things that make a difference in preventing chronic disease and death.
How an InBody Scan Can Improve Your Fitness Results
It gives you a useful picture of your starting point.
That’s an essential first step in a fitness routine, according to Fitness Science Director of Operations Conner Lorenzo, who is also a certified fitness trainer.
Knowing your strengths and areas for improvement in great detail can help you and your trainer prioritize what you want to work on first.
It’s motivating.
When you’re making steady effort in working out and eating well, seeing how your InBody numbers change for the better is a big boost that can help you stick with your program, Lorenzo says. The insights also help you make adjustments in your routine to maximize your results.
Breaking free of fixation on a body-weight number reaps dividends, adds Fitness Science’s Registered Dietitian Holly Gilligan.
“Seeing your muscle mass increasing and body fat percentage decreasing can be much more motivating than stepping on a scale every week and agonizing over whether you are down a pound or up a pound.”
Fitness Science at University of Rochester Medicine
Fitness Science athletic trainers and our Registered Dietician work with clients of all ages to improve their fitness and health. If you’d like to learn more about getting an individual assessment and fitness plan, visit the Fitness Science website.
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