InBody Body Composition Analysis
Assessment Stage: Initial Assessment
Included in Future Health Assessment: Yes
Partner: InBody Australia
Provider: Future Health
Approximate Cost: Included in the Future Health Assessment
What is it?
InBody is an advanced body composition analyser that uses multi-frequency bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) to measure muscle, fat and body water. Unlike traditional scales, InBody estimates how your body is composed and how that composition changes over time.
While DEXA remains the gold standard for body composition assessment, InBody provides a rapid, practical and highly reproducible method for ongoing monitoring between DEXA scans.
At Future Health, InBody is primarily used to monitor progress and track changes in response to nutrition, exercise and lifestyle interventions.
What does it measure?
-
Measures the total amount of skeletal muscle throughout the body.
Healthy muscle mass supports:
Strength
Physical performance
Metabolic health
Healthy ageing
-
The proportion of total body weight composed of fat tissue.
This provides a more meaningful assessment than body weight alone.
-
Estimates fat surrounding the abdominal organs.
Higher visceral fat is associated with increased risk of:
Cardiovascular disease
Type 2 diabetes
Fatty liver disease
Chronic inflammation
-
Measures muscle mass in:
Right arm
Left arm
Trunk
Right leg
Left leg
This helps identify muscular asymmetry, imbalance and changes over time.
-
Measures fat distribution across different body regions.
Regional fat distribution often provides more clinically useful information than total body fat alone.
-
Measures:
Intracellular Water
Extracellular Water
Total Body Water
Body water analysis assists with hydration assessment and interpretation of body composition.
-
Estimates abdominal fat distribution.
Higher ratios are associated with increased cardiometabolic risk.
-
Phase angle reflects cell membrane integrity and cellular health.
Higher values are generally associated with:
Better nutritional status
Greater muscle quality
Improved physical function
-
Estimates the energy your body requires each day to maintain normal physiological function at rest.
Why is it important?
Weight alone cannot distinguish between fat loss, muscle gain or fluid changes.
InBody allows objective monitoring of:
Muscle preservation during weight loss
Changes in visceral fat
Body composition improvement
Hydration status
Muscle symmetry
This is particularly valuable for patients undertaking lifestyle change, resistance training or GLP-1 therapy.
Who may benefit?
Recommended for all Future Health patients.
Particularly useful for:
Weight management
Healthy ageing
Menopause
Resistance training
Athletes
Patients using GLP-1 medications
Monitoring body composition over time
What happens during the assessment?
You stand barefoot on the InBody device while lightly holding the hand electrodes.
The assessment is painless and usually takes less than two minutes.
Results are available immediately.
Preparation
For the most accurate results:
Avoid eating for 2–3 hours beforehand where possible.
Avoid vigorous exercise immediately before testing.
Empty your bladder beforehand if practical.
Remove shoes, socks and heavy jewellery.
Aim to test under similar conditions each visit.
Advantages
Fast and non-invasive
No radiation exposure
Excellent for monitoring changes over time
Immediate results
Assesses muscle, fat and hydration simultaneously
Limitations
Results can be influenced by hydration status, recent meals and exercise.
Estimates body composition and does not replace DEXA for detailed assessment.
Should be interpreted alongside clinical findings and other investigations.
How Future Health uses this investigation
InBody complements DEXA by allowing regular monitoring between comprehensive assessments.
Results are interpreted together with:
DEXA Body Composition
Nutrition Assessment
VO₂ Master Assessment
VALD Performance Assessment
Blood biomarkers
Physical activity
to track progress and adjust personalised health plans over time.
Related Future Health Domains
Strength & Physical Capability
Cardiometabolic Health
Nutrition
Healthy Ageing
Future Health Summary
InBody provides a rapid and practical way to monitor changes in muscle, fat and hydration over time. When combined with DEXA and physical performance testing, it helps ensure that improvements in health are measured by changes in body composition—not simply by changes in body weight.