The present invention provides bioelectrical impedance measuring apparatus for determining composition data of the human body, the apparatus including at least eight electrodes, a pair of electrodes being assigned to each of four limbs, measuring circuitry having current sources and current and voltage measuring circuitry which may selectively be coupled to the electrodes, and a control and analysis unit which is arranged to apply, according to a plurality of predetermined measuring programs, current to two electrodes and to determine the resulting voltages with two other electrodes on different limbs and to determine the impedance of body segments based thereon. The control and analysis unit is further arranged to determine, in an advance measurement by applying current via two electrodes and measuring the resulting current through the applying electrodes and/or voltages on the other electrodes, which electrodes have contact, and to select, on the basis of the determined configuration of electrodes with contact, such matching measuring programs, in which matching measuring programs only electrodes are used for current application and voltage measurement which are contained in the determined configuration of electrodes having contact.
