Dexa or dual energy x ray absorptiometry will provide you with accurate results of your body fat percentage lean body mass skeletal muscle mass and is often used by professionals to predict osteopenia and osteoporosisby measuring bone mineral density. That said no device can accurately measure how much muscle and fat you have.
How A Dexa Body Fat Muscle And Bone Scan Can Help You Get Fit
How accurate is dexa scan for body fat. The only way to truly measure your body fat is to have all of it stripped out placed on a scale and weighed. The bod pod overestimated body fat by an average of 679 684 when compared to dexa measurements. Body fat or body composition scans with dexa dxa provides precise and accurate data on total body fat percentage total fat mass and fat free mass. The test looks beyond your weight and the traditional body mass index bmi. The dexa scan is the clinical gold standard for measuring fat muscle and bone density. Several studies tout its excellent accuracy 1 2 3.
But thats something ill discuss at a later date. A dexa scan has a very low error rate of 1 2 compared to 5 15 for most methods. The simple answer to this question is no dexa scans are not an accurate way to measure your body composition. Most importantly what is unique about dexa body composition technology is that it provides regional body fat results trunk arms legs pelvis and androidgynoid regions. It determines your total body fat percentage total fat mass and fat free mass. Unlike hydrostatic weighing there is no need to expel air remove clothing or do any type of preparation before a dexa scan.
Dexa is much more accurate than the traditional body mass index bmi in. Find nearby locations and pricing to get you an on the spot assessment of your body composition. Since it does provide all the fat within your body. How does the dexa scan work. This method is highly accurate. Dexa scan is typically agreed to be the most accurate body fat percentage reading.
Conclusion dual energy x ray absorptiometry dxa formerly dexa is regarded as the gold standard for determining body fat percentage and lean mass. Measuring body composition another use for dexa scans is to measure body composition lean muscle and fat tissue. The only thing that could be more accurate is a water displacement measure. A dexa scan dual enerxy x ray absorptiometry uses two different types of waves that are reflected by lean muscle and bone differently. The cost for dxa has gone down to only 45 in california as of 2016 thanks to mobile truck services like body spec. Dexa dxa scan is widely considered as one of the most accurate and comprehensive body composition tests.
The dexa scan utilizes dual energy x ray absorptiometry dxa. Researchers performed two body fat measurement tests on each participant six hours apart. This is due to the advanced x ray technology that leave little guesswork and no extra calculations to provide accurate data. Underweight people measured with dexa were determined to have 882 body fat while the bod pod measured 1615 1616 body fat.
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