The widely used body mass index bmi provides a measure that allows the comparison of the adiposity of individuals of different heights and weights. Near infrared technology for measuring body fat was developed by the us. One potential low cost approach for obtaining direct measurements of body fat is near infrared nir interactance. In near infrared interactance nir a specialized probe is placed against an area of the body emitting infrared light that passes through muscle and fat. Near infrared interactance is one of many measures of body composition which uses a computerized spectrophotometer which has a single rapid scanning monochromator and fiber optic probe. The body fat percentage is a measure of fitness level since it is the only body measurement which directly calculates a persons relative body composition without regard to height or weight.
Your body needs to excrete water to sweat but this does not mean the results from infrared sessions are simply due to loss of water weight. Government department of agriculture. While the weight of the water lost will be regained by rehydration the calories consumed to make the sweat will not. The nir machine then uses this information along with age and activity level to estimate body composition. When operating the light wand sends a nearinfrared light beam into the biceps of the dominant arm at specific wavelengths. Handy for monitoring the progress of dieting and exercise this device measures body fat by emitting a beam of infrared light.
Portable analyzers using nearinfrared interactance nir principle have been proposed for the direct measurement of percent body fat 21. This method uses the principles of light absorption and reflection to measure body fat. For some devices you stand on a rotating platform for. Nevertheless in 2010 the fda cleared a laser called zerona manufactured by erchonia medical inc which uses red light therapy to remove unwanted. There is little scientific evidence supporting the claims that infrared light whether administered by lamp laser or while in a body wrap can help people lose weight or shape their body. 3d body scanners use infrared sensors to get a detailed look at the shape of your body the sensors generate a 3 d model of your body.
The aims of this study were to model the effect of varying volume fractions of melanin and water in skin over nir spectra and to define sensitivity of nir reflection on changes of thickness of subcutaneous fat. Near infrared interactance uses a computerized spectrophotometer via solid state optics. This method uses the principles of light absorption and reflection more specifically transflectance and interactance to analyze body fat. Because muscle absorbs light and fat reflects it the monitor records the amount of the light reflected back calculates the percentage of fat in the body part being scrutinized and instantly displays the result on a lcd screen.