How should I read my body composition test results?

Key points in 30 seconds

1. Rather than your weight, look at which direction muscle and body fat each moved.
2. The best combination is less body fat with muscle maintained.
3. Results vary with each measurement depending on your hydration.
4. Measure at the same time and under the same conditions to compare.
5. This test can't tell you things like blood pressure or blood sugar.

What we often hear

• "I got my results sheet, but I don't know what to look at."
• "There were lots of numbers, but the explanation was short."
• "Isn't it enough to just look at my weight?"

How should I read my body composition test results?

Rather than the number on the scale, we look at which direction your muscle mass and body fat each moved. Even when your weight stays the same, things inside may be changing for the better.

If you only look at your weight, it's easy to get discouraged. Early on after starting exercise, muscle increases, so your weight may stay the same or even go up a little. Many people give up at this point.

Which combinations are a good sign?

The best case is when body fat goes down and muscle stays the same or increases. On the other hand, if you lost a lot of weight but lost muscle along with it, the way you lost it makes the weight likely to come back.

So what we look at is not "how much went down" but "what went down." Even the same 3 kilograms is a completely different result depending on whether it was fat or muscle.

Why are the results different every time?

Because the results shift with the amount of water in your body. They come out differently the day after a salty meal, around your period, right after exercise, or after drinking a lot of water.

So we keep the measuring conditions the same. To compare, you need to measure at the same time of day and in the same state. Comparing a measurement taken in the morning after using the bathroom with one taken after dinner means nothing.

It's important not to get too excited or too upset over day-to-day changes. We also don't just pass on the numbers each time. We compare them with last time and tell you which direction things are going.

Is this test enough on its own?

No. This test estimates your body composition by sending a weak electrical current through your body, so it can differ from the actual values.

The error gets larger especially when your body water is very uneven, or when your muscle mass is very high or very low. That's why we look at the direction of change across repeated measurements under the same conditions, rather than a single absolute value.

What are the limits of this assessment?

We have no data of our own checking the accuracy of this test. What we've written here are cautions that come from how this type of test works.

One more note. Body composition results don't tell you everything about your health. This test can't tell you things like blood pressure, blood sugar, or cholesterol. Those are for your regular health checkup.

We look at what went down rather than your weight. Even the same 3 kg is a completely different result depending on whether it was muscle or fat.

If you've got a results sheet and can't make sense of it, bring it in. We'll point out which numbers to look at.

How test results are interpreted depends on your condition and the measuring conditions.