The Clinical Relevance of Bioimpedance Analysis (BIA)

Recently it has been demonstrated that body fat is more than just the storage of excess Calories. Body fat stored within the adipocyte cell has been shown to be metabolically active and a component of the neuroendocrine immune system. As such adipose tissue produces messenger substances such as the inflammatory cytokines IL-1 and TNF- that may contribute to the origin of heart disease, insulin resistance/Type 2 diabetes and other chronic illness associated with obesity (1). The production of cytokines may also contribute to the loss of muscle protein through an accelerated catabolic process.