Picture a time capsule, something from the set of a science fiction movie. Now envision yourself suiting up and getting in. You breathe deep, preparing to enter a distant cosmos. But this isn't space travel. You've just stepped inside the Bod Pod.

The Bod Pod is a new method of evaluating body composition, the ratio of lean to fat body tissue. Unlike traditional methods that utilize water pressure or measurement devices called calipers the Bod Pod functions using air. The pod comprises two compartments and gauges the movement of air as it travels from the back compartment to the front, measuring how much air is displaced when it moves around the body inside.

WellWorks, Ohio University's wellness program, obtained the pod through a $40,162 grant established by private giving during the 1804 Campaign, the University's first capital campaign, from 1978 to 1981. The pod is something many universities don't have, says Francie Astrom, a nutrition counselor in the Department of Human and Consumer Sciences.

WellWorks plans to use the device to inform people about body composition and for research purposes.

An assessment takes up to 15 minutes to perform - an improvement on the water pressure method, which takes between 45 and 60 minutes. Calipers are less time consuming but account for more technician error.

The Bod Pod is accurate and less troubling to people, for example, than the water pressure method, which could cause someone to become claustrophobic, says Darlene Berryman, an assistant professor in Human and Consumer Sciences and the principle investigator for the grant.

Many of the researchers work with special populations, such as children and the elderly, who need special access to measure their body composition. Berryman and Sharon Rana, an assistant professor in recreation and sport sciences, are using the Bod Pod to study the impact of obesity on children's health.

WellWorks also will open the Bod Pod to the athletics department to target athletes and people working toward a healthier lifestyle.

"People want to know their body composition," Astrom says. "If we can give them a starting point, then they can begin to gauge what impact their personal habits are having on their body composition."

Eventually, Astrom hopes, high school athletes will use the Bod Pod to learn how to take care of their bodies and maintain healthy eating habits.

"If we could show people that this is what good body composition is, then maybe we wouldn't have kids binging, purging and starving themselves."

Sara Schonhardt, BSJ '03, is a former student writer for University Communications and Marketing.