For the past seven years, the Wade King Student Recreation Center has housed Western’s Bod Pod machine.  The Bod Pod is an egg-shaped machine that measures the ratio between the fat mass and lean mass, better known as the muscles, bones and organs in a human body.

According to Ron Arnold, the fitness coordinator at the recreation center, future office renovations will result in a location change for the Bod Pod this upcoming school year.

“Moving the Bod Pod will make it more accessible,” Arnold said. “We wont be sharing a space and we can have more available time for testing.”

Tammy Briery-Callahan is the marketing communications manager at Life Measurement Inc., the company that makes the Bod Pod. She said the machine can determine body composition based on the user’s body mass, body volume and a scientific equation.

Users stand on a regular scale to measure their weight. Sitting inside the Bod Pod determines body volume, or how much space the user’s body takes up. Average lung volume is measured by breathing at a normal rate into a breathing tube while in the machine.

Briery-Callahan said the final step is to take the information from the three measurements and apply them to an equation that calculates how much of the user’s body is fat and how much is lean or muscle.

“No method is 100 percent accurate,” Briery-Callahan said. “The main focus is to provide information to people to improve health and wellness.”

Briery-Callahan said the Bod Pod was developed in the early 1990s to give accurate, simple and easily available information. At the time, less accurate methods were used to measure body compositionsuch as skin fold calipers or body mass index.

“The error factor [of the Bod Pod] when done properly is 2 to 3 percent,” Briery-Callahan said. “That’s considered excellent because it is all estimates.”

There are close to 1,000 Bod Pod machines currently used worldwide by NFL teams, military, health clubs and hospitals Briery-Callahan said. Universities are also another significant client, using the Bod Pod for research and athletic programs.

Arnold said the university received the Bod Pod in 2003 mainly to conduct research within the anthropology and physical education departments. Now, the Bod Pod is used primarily for the personal training program at the recreation center.

“This is a phenomenal tool for our personal training program,” Arnold said. “When you step on a scale, that just gives you a number of your body mass, but body composition tells you what you are made of.”

Arnold said the Bod Pod on campus is not limited to Western students but is open to community members who come from local gyms, hospitals and weight loss clinics. He said the Pod test results give people a goal, an evaluation of their progress through a workout program and an evaluation after a program is completed.

Maia Kurnik is a kinesiology student and personal trainer at Western. Kurnik said she thinks the Bod Pod is preferred over other body composition methods.

“It’s a lot more accurate and we have a much better idea essentially of how a person is built, versus just a estimated chart that is one size fits all,” Kurnik said. “All of our clients are unique, so we need to be as specific and precise as possible so we can give each client the most personalized and tailored workout regiment.”

While the Bod Pod serves as a good tool for helping people improve physical fitness and health, it can also have negative impacts for those who suffer from eating and exercise disorders or have issues with their self image. Arnold said body composition is only one aspect of physical health and people need to be aware that the Bod Pod does not measure other important health factors such as the condition of your cardiovascular system, strength, nutrition or flexibility.

Arnold said prior to doing a Bod Pod test, either he or student personal trainers interview potential clients to find out what their goals are and where they are regarding their confidence levels, self image and other personal issues. He said it is important for him and his staff to take the time to understand why clients want to do the Bod Pod test and to educate them on healthy levels of body fat and ways to achieve goals in a safe way.

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