As a fitness professional, NIR or Near-Infared Interactance is one of my favorite methods of body composition analysis. Of course, with this method comes some controversy on how accurate it really is, I find it to be superior to Bio-electrical Impedance and Anthropometric measures when trying to reproduce similar results. NIR is not very well-known to the average athlete or personal trainer and I hope the following information will help spike your interest in such an incredible body composition technology.
Background:
U.S Government research has determined that the ratio of fat to lean mass in the mid-point or "belly" of the biceps has a direct correlation with the entire body. To date, hundreds of thousands of devices use Near-Infrared technology to determine the composition of agricultural goods.
A company by the name of Futrex continued where government researchers left off and developed a portable NIR analyzer to be used by fitness and health professionals. Near-Infared Interactance is somewhat controversial because it relies on a single-site measurement to determine body composition, and has various potential causes for error. There are many studies that show NIR to be comparable to Hydrostatic Weighing (the Gold Standard), but poor accuracy in some special populations including: high school wrestlers/professional athletes, morbidly obese people, and the elderly. Fortunately, these issues have been addressed in the past 10 years with many new equations and the introduction of the 1 and 3 site athletic measurements. Even though such issues have been addressed, this does not guarantee gold standard accuracy.
Safety:
NIR is perhaps the safest body composition method ever invented. It is FDA cleared, and has the European Medical mark.
Pre-test Protocols:
The great thing about this test is that you can take it at any time without any pre-test requirements.
How it Works:
A light wand is securely placed on the mid-point or "belly" of the bicep. When ready the wand sends a Near-Infrared light that is absorbed by fat and reflected off of lean mass. Within seconds results are produced and printed.
What NIR tests can reveal:
percent body fattotal body fatweight of essential fat (lbs)weight of reserve fat (lbs)weight of excess fat (lbs)weight of lean mass (lbs)total body waterand BMI.
Pricing:
Pricing is solely based on the fitness professional's pricing preference. Typically one can expect to pay around 15-75 dollars for any body composition test. Some gyms may even offer free testing to new members and clients.
Bart Waldon is the Fitness Director for http://www.youronlinefitnesstrainer.com/ and invites you to to participate in his expert built exercise programs and receive his personal support.
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