Did you know that women are 4 times more likely to develop osteoporosis than men, and that being asian or caucasian also puts you at higher risk? The older you are also increases your risk as does the dreaded menopause! 

As one of my goals this year is to increase my fitness training and running sessions, I have been researching how to measure and monitor body composition and also how to check my muscle symmetry in order to avoid any injuries.

The DexaScan Body Composition Scan and why you should have it *

A great way to measure your body composition, (the distribution of lean muscle, fat, water and bone in your body so you can track any changes in your fitness over time) is the DexaScan Body Composition Scan.

So, before I go into the detail of the different measures and why they are important, let me explain briefly how the DexaScan works.

The Body Composition Scan 

DexaScan body composition scan

The DexaScan body composition scan takes about 7 minutes, where you’ll be lying flat on the scanning bed, and the procedure (also called dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry), uses x ray technology to determine the distribution of lean muscle, fat, water and bone in your body.

It works by passing two safe and very low dose x-ray beams at differing energy levels through the tissues of the body. The amount of radiation that passes through the tissue is then measured by a detector, and the computer then determines how much of your tissue is muscle fat water or bone and where it’s all stored.

You will get your results directly after the scan, and don’t worry, they will be explained to you by a professional!

DexaScan body composition scan

So, why is the DexaScan body composition scan important?

Well, it is interesting for fitness enthusiasts, athletes, and people who are trying to lose weight, as well as just for maintaining overall health, to get a baseline body composition scan and then objectively measure progress.

The results show you:

  • Overall body fat, lean tissue (muscle), bone weight and percentages
  • Total body bone mineral density
  • Total body muscle mass
  • Total body fat mass
  • Total body bone mass
  • Total body fat percentage
  • Breakdowns for both legs, arms and your torso
  • Where your body fat and muscle is distributed
  • Visceral fat (the dangerous fat around vital organs, and you should be aiming to decrease this).
DexaScan body composition scan

Many dieters, combining a diet and exercise program, often get discouraged as the scales don’t show any weight loss even though they have been dieting and exercising. However, this is totally to be expected as dense muscle weighs more that fat, so just using scales doesn’t give a fair evaluation of progress.

Conversely, dieters on crash diets often getting misleading results because they are losing lean muscle along with fat, and so appear to be losing weight quickly; but the long-term results will be less satisfactory. 

The DexaScan body composition scan lets you see the evolution in your fat/muscle ratio so you know how effective your diet and exercise routine is.

DexaScan body composition scan

If you’re an athlete and training for an event, a DexaScan body composition scan will pick up muscle asymmetries between the left and right sides. This is of particular interest to me, as I suffered an injury to my right leg last year and I know I put too much pressure on my left side to compensate. A DexaScan will show me if this is putting me at risk of muscle asymmetry.

Muscle imbalance asymmetries are often caused when our sport causes us to favour one side over the other, or when we put too much pressure on our dominant side. These asymmetries throw weight distribution off and create unnatural stresses that can lead to injury. So, it is important to be aware of them and to take corrective action!

DexaScan body composition scan

If you’re a body builder and you’re trying to ‘bulk up’, it’s important to know how much muscle you are actually gaining (or how much muscle you are losing on a cut.)
The DEXA scan will show you changes in your body fat and muscle composition and so you can prepare for competitions more effectively.

The Bone Density Scan

The Dexa Scan can also be used to measure your bone density (to measure how strong your bones are, and see if you are at risk of osteoporosis). 

The risk for developing Osteoporosis (decreased density of bones, leading to fragility and increased likelihood of fractures ) increases with age and while both sexes are at risk with increasing age, women are 4 times more likely to develop osteoporosis due to their lighter, thinner bones and longer life spans. 

This scan takes 10 to 20 minutes, and it’s painless and non-invasive. As for the body composition scan, two X-ray beams are used; in this case one high energy and one low energy.

It will measure the X-rays that pass through the bone from each beam, which will vary depending on how thick your bone is. Based on the difference between the two beams, the machine determines your bone density.

If you think you’re at risk of osteoporosis talk to your doctor about scheduling a bone density scan, and remember, you’ll need to schedule a follow up appointment with your doctor after you’ve been scanned to discuss your results. 

Please note, for either scan, you should not take calcium supplements for at least 24 hours before the examination, as this might affect the accuracy of the results, and avoid wearing clothes with metal zippers or hooks.

I hope you enjoyed this feature about the Dexascan Body Composition Scan, and have a look here for more of our lifestyle features.

*Please note that I received compensation in exchange for a feature about DEXASCAN. All research and opinions are my own