Home, low cost, BIA (Bioelectrical Impedence Analysis) devices are not as accurate as
professional devices for a number of reasons. Some only measure across the feet, whereas others across the hands only. Those that measure from hand to foot
are more accurate.
When measuring from hand to hand, the signal travels
across the chest, so lower body composition is excluded. Likewise, in foot to
foot BIA devices, the signal only travels through the legs and ignores the
upper-part of the body composition. Depending on your body shape, the results
can be very misleading.
Body composition results greatly depend on your weight. This
can change throughout the day depending on hydration and bowel content. Recent
activity level also affects the results. This is because blood in your body
tends to pool in your legs when at rest or standing up. Muscle contraction
during exercise redistributes the blood throughout your body, by squeezing
venous blood vessels and thereby changes the impedance values used to calculate
body composition.
All of these factors can impact on the results a BIA device outputs. FitQuest's BIA averages your test scores so by using the same device consistently, you are able to track your progress more accurately.