DEXA SCAN REVIEW

My journey with wellness started when I was 14. I have always been fascinated with nutrition and fitness and I have to admit it started with body image struggles but I guess that usually comes along with being a teenager and going through puberty. It was really in college when I started to adopt a deeper connection with my body and valued fitness, strength and health.

Till this day, I can confidently say that I’m a pretty healthy individual who eats well and exercise regularly. With that being said, I have always been intrigued by science and information on body analysis since I think it’s a great way to track progress especially if you have certain goals in mind.

I have heard of the DEXA scan before and have always wanted to try it. For those who are not familiar with how it works:
DEXA (Dual-Energy X-ray Absorptiometry) Scan bounces two different types of rays off your body and then measures the amount of rays that bounce back. The rays are absorbed differently by your body’s bone, fat, and muscle, allowing the scanner to measure your body composition.

It gives you a baseline measurement including:

• Overall body fat, lean tissue (muscle), bone weight and percentages
• Breakdowns for both legs, arms and your torso
• DEXA scan image showing where your body fat and muscle is distributed
• Visceral fat (the dangerous fat around organs)

What’s great is that these data are far more accurate than just a number on a scale. I actually own a scale that also gives you information on body fat percentage, BMI, body water, skeletal muscle, etc but it’s definitely not as accurate or detailed as the DEXA scan.

My visit lasted roughly about 30 minutes and was rather quick as I simply laid on the scanner bed for 7 minutes and had my results immediately afterwards.  The scan was not painful or uncomfortable, but I did feel a subtle tingling sensation due to the radiation. I basically had to remain within the outline of the bed and remained still until the scan was over. I went into my visit with an open mind and told myself to not judge the numbers but rather observe them and use them for my goals. To be fair, I had been traveling quite a lot and I thought that would affect my data compared to had I been home and stuck with my daily routine and workout regime.

Since I had this positive mindset, I was excited to use my results to mark my progress since summer is right around the corner. Just to give you a brief insight to my results, I found out that it is common for the scan to give you a much higher body fat percentage than a Omron Monitor. My personal results showed a 10% higher fat percentage on the Dexa Scan but the doctor said that’s extremely normal since the Dexa Scan is way more accurate and aggressive than other body fat calculators.

I held the less body fat percentage in my trunk or in other words, my torso. I was actually surprised because I always thought that’s where I carried most of my fat. In fact, I actually carry more of my fat on my hips, which I actually don’t mind. As expected, since I am right-handed, my right arm and right leg has less fat than my left arm and left leg. My BMI is also in the normal range, so that was great to hear.

For those who are curious to know where they stand with these numbers, you can check out if there’s a local facility that offers a Dexa Scan  here. I also wanted to reiterate that you shouldn’t use this information to make judgements about your body, but rather develop an understanding on where it stands and how to improve it if you wish. I would love to hear your thoughts about the DEXA scan and if this is something that you guys would find useful!