How Do I Interpret My InBody Scan Data?
The InBody result sheet can look overwhelming at first glance — it’s jam-packed with charts, numbers, and terms you might not recognize.
But once you break it down, it’s actually pretty user-friendly. Here's a quick guide to the key components and what they really mean.
1. Body Fat Percentage (BF%) and Fat Mass
This is the headline number for many people.
Body Fat Percentage shows what percent of your total weight is fat. You’ll also see Body Fat Mass, which is how many pounds or kilograms of fat you carry. For example, a 150 lb person at 20% body fat has about 30 lbs of fat.
As one coach put it simply: “BF mass is your pounds of fat in your body.”
Instead of obsessing over hitting a "perfect" number, focus on the trend. If your BF% is decreasing over time, you're likely losing fat — and that’s a win.
2. Lean Body Mass and Skeletal Muscle Mass
Lean Body Mass includes everything in your body that isn't fat — muscle, bone, organs, water.
InBody also breaks out Skeletal Muscle Mass, which refers specifically to muscle attached to your bones (i.e., the kind you build in the gym).
If you’re working to gain muscle, you want this number to rise. If you’re dieting, the goal is to keep this number steady while reducing fat.
Trends matter: If your muscle mass goes from 60 kg to 62 kg over a few months, that’s meaningful progress.
3. Total Body Water (TBW)
This measures how much of your body is made up of water.
A general rule: your TBW should be at least 50–65% of your total body weight. Lower readings might suggest dehydration or a higher fat percentage (since fat holds less water).
For consistency, it’s important to scan under similar hydration conditions each time — otherwise, changes in water can mimic gains or losses in fat/muscle.
4. Visceral Fat Level
Visceral fat is the fat stored around your internal organs — often linked with increased health risks.
Some InBody models rate it on a scale (e.g., 1–20). Lower is better. A level around 5 or below is typically considered healthy, while anything 10 or higher can be a red flag.
Even though it’s not as commonly discussed as body fat percentage, it’s a valuable metric for tracking metabolic health and disease risk.
5. Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)
Your BMR is the number of calories your body burns at rest over 24 hours — essentially, your baseline metabolism.
For example, if your BMR is 1500 kcal, that’s the minimum number of calories your body needs just to keep you alive (breathing, heartbeat, organ function, etc.).
A coach summarized it well: “If you were to sleep for 24 hours, that’s how many calories you’d burn.”
This number can help guide your calorie intake. You should never consistently eat below your BMR — it’s a reminder that super-restrictive diets are not sustainable or healthy.
6. Other Sections to Be Aware Of
- Segmental Lean Mass: Shows muscle distribution across each arm, leg, and your trunk. Helpful for spotting imbalances or tracking limb-specific growth.
- Lean Body Mass & Fat Control: Suggests how much muscle/fat you could gain or lose to reach an “ideal” range based on a reference population. Use it as a light guide, not a hard rule.
- Body Composition History: This is the most underrated part of the scan — a graph showing changes over time.
Pro tip: Focus more on the direction your numbers are trending than any single scan. If your body fat is steadily decreasing and your muscle is holding or increasing, you're on the right track.
Focus on the Trend, Not the One-Off
One expert said it best: “Do not focus on the absolute value… focus on the change in value.”
If your first scan says 25% body fat and two months later you’re at 22%, celebrate that 3% drop — that trend means more than the raw numbers ever will.