FORACCURACY
Common alternative methods, such as BMI, Bioimpedance, Bod Pod, and hydrostatic weighing, are often used incorrectly as a surrogate for body composition health. But they can be dangerously misleading.
For example, if you have a BMI of 25 kg/m2, you may have a body fat percentage anywhere from 10-35 percent. If you use other alternative methods, you may see a margin of error range from 5 to 15%.
A DEXA scan’s accuracy and precision ranges from a 1 to 2 percent margin of error
FORANSWERS
A DEXA scan also provides additional information that BMI and alternative testing methods cannot, including:
- Visceral Adipose Tissue (VAT), which is leading predictor of longevity, metabolic syndrome, and cardiovascular disease
- Skeletal strength, your risk for osteoporosis
- Muscle symmetry to identify how your lean muscle, fat, and bone mass compares in each region of your body
- “Skinny fat” and sarcopenia risks, which has been found to be an important predictor of cognitive performance
THE GOLD STANDARD
BODY COMPOSITION ANALYSIS