'BOD POD' Could Ward Off Heart Disease

May 2 - KGO (KGO) -- Pro sports teams are going to great lengths for health information of players and ABC7 reports on some new technology that does just that.

You may have noticed an egg-shaped device at this year's NFL combine, the BOD POD.

Tom Macleod, CEO Life Measurement, Inc.: "Our device measures the fat fraction and fat free mass."

Body composition is an indicator of your health. It's a percentage of fat and lean muscle. Free mass includes muscle, bones, organs and water -- and the remainder of your weight is body fat.

Tom Macleod: "So that's five pounds of muscle and this is 5 pounds of fat."

ABC7's Mike Shumann: "What a difference."

The BOD POD is more accurate than the pinch test or the underwater method in which you expel your wind, hold your breath and measure the displacement of water.

Tom Macleod: "It's the same principal as underwater weighing but we use air as a medium instead of water."

It's a simple process: register your height and weight, put on spandex shorts and a hat because body hair is measurable. You're tested twice at 45 seconds apiece. They give you the average and here's your body fat.

Tom Macleod: "16.5 percent. That was about the average for quarterbacks at the combine."

Too much body fat can be an indicator of other issues like diabetes or heart disease. Now if you want to lose weight...

Tom Macleod: "It's very important that you lose fat and not lean mass, because if you lose lean mass your metabolism will drop."

Twelve NFL teams and several Division I schools own a BOD POD but athletic testing is the third largest segment they deal with. Medical testing is tops along with obesity, eating disorders and heart problems, followed by research and nutrition, then public safety, military, fire and police, and finally, health and fitness.

Tom Macleod: "It's another critical statistic for your health that's now easy to get."

We all have long term interest in our health and the BOD POD is a way to keep on top of it.

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