What is VLA BioImpedence Assessment (BIA)?
Bioelectrical impedance technology measures conductivity (ohms) of the body. The method is based on the fact that the lean tissue of the body is much more conductive due to its higher water content than that of fat tissue. In order words, the more lean tissue present in the body, the greater the conductive potential.

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BIA measures biomarkers of health, including muscle, fat and energy production. These biomarkers will tell you many things about your health including body fat levels, energy, toxicity, inflammation and response to treatment.

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Who will benefit from this programme?

People who want to:- 

•    lose weight

•    increase muscle tone and fitness

•    improve their energy

•    slow down ageing
•    effectively detoxify their body, especially chronically ill patients

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Important BIA Parameters

1) Resistance
Resistance is the measured electrical resistance of the body. This is proportional to body fat and inversely proportional to the water volume of the body. Generally a lower score indicates better health.

 

2) Active Tissue Mass (ATM)
The active tissue mass is the total mass of living cells within the body and they comprise mainly of (1) skeletal muscle, (2) visera (i.e heart, brain, liver etc), and some (3) smooth muscle. ATM is effectively the body’s engine and main contributor to basal metabolic rate.

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This applies especially to the skeletal muscles as they provide critical nutritional and hormonal regulation of all other major organs.

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Loss of ATM is associated with reduced quality of life, low immunity, increased biological age, and impaired healing. It generally takes about 3 times as long to increase ATM as to deplete it. Ways to increase ATM includes removing stress and anxiety (which break down ATM quickly), increase protein intake and a suitable exercise regimen.

 

3) Intracellular Water (ICW)
Intracellular water is the potassium-rich fluid volume found within the cell and is a sensitive indicator of cellular function. An increase in ICW is associated with increased cellular health. Possible causes of low ICW are: Low levels of magnesium  • Low levels of essential fatty acids

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4) Extracellular Water (ECW)
Extracellular water is the sodium rich fluid found outside the cells. The plasma represents the major proportion and the most adaptable of extracellular fluids.

 

Fluids can be held outside the cell in the extracellular space by various toxins. Toxic chemicals, metabolic wastes, infections and other foreign antigens (such as allergenic food particles etc), can initiate inflammatory and catabolic reactions associated with increasing ECW. Typically, high ECW will be seen with low ICW due to difficulty in water entering the cells. A depleted ECW (in cases of dehydration) is often due to a poor diet, insufficient water intake or malabsorption.

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5) Phase Angle
The phase angle is an indicator of the amount of electrical charge the cell membrane can hold and is one of the best indicators of cellular health and function available. The charge the cell can hold is also dependent on the intracellular volume, so the phase angle is also an indicator of tissue cell volume. The large the phase angle, the better the cellular membrane integrity
and, therefore, cell function.

 

6) Body Mass Index (BMI)
This is calculated by dividing the weight of the individual by their height (in metres)2. This is a reading commonly used by doctors to calculate heart risk and the level of obesity.

 

7) % of Ideal Active Tissue Mass
This refers to a percentage representation of the amount of the client’s active tissue mass in comparison to their ideal active tissue mass. Thus a reading of 80% would mean that the client has only 80% of the active tissue mass for their gender. It is clinically important to improve this reading towards 100% as this is the number one biomarker of ageing.

 

8) % of Ideal Fat Mass
This is a percentage representation of the amount of the client’s fat mass in comparison to their ideal fat mass. Thus, a reading of 120% would indicate that the client has 20% too much fat.

 

9) Difference
“Difference” relates to the kilogram amount of Fat/Active Tissue Mass that is different from the ideal. This number is represented as kilogram and should be as close to zero as possible.

 

10) Body Composition Age (BCA)
The Body Composition Age also means cellular age. It is increased by toxicity factor, the fat mass and the chronological age of the individual. The BCA tells you how fast you are aging. If it is higher than your chronological age i.e. BCA is 40 and your chronological age is 20, you are ageing faster. If the BCA is 20 and your chronological age is 40, then you are ageing more slowly. It is good when your BCA is 10 to 15 years less than your chronological age.

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