As we evolve in health, knowing your body composition is important. DEXA Clinic Vancouver helps people understand their bodies better. Learn the benefits!

Understanding your body’s composition plays a major role in your goal of better health and fitness.

As an athlete who wants to improve performance or you’re just focused on having a better wellness all around, you must have a good knowledge of your muscle, fat, and bone health.

To get the correct assessment of your body’s composition, you’ll have to check through a DEXA body composition scan.

If you’re around Vancouver. You can find a DEXA clinic Vancouver that can help you with that.

At DEXA Health, we’re a committed team of health professionals, wellness specialists, and diagnostic experts who provide accurate care and give you detailed insights into your body’s fat, muscle, and bone mass.

We have a mission to offer non-profit services to people. At our company, you’ll get the most affordable and accurate measurements of your body fat, muscle, and bone health.

With our accurate results, you can make smart decisions about your health and fitness plan.

In this article, we’ll show you how a DEXA scan works and what you gain from a DEXA body composition scan, among others.

Let’s begin!

What is a DEXA Body Composition Scan?

A DEXA (Dual-Energy X-ray Absorptiometry) scan is a medical test that uses low-dose X-rays to check muscle mass, body fat, and bone density.

The old way of checking this is through Body Mass Index (BMI). But it doesn’t give an accurate and precise analysis of your body’s components.

A DEXA body comp scan will give you a detailed breakdown of how much fat, lean muscle, and bone mass you have. This helps you to better understand your health.

You can trust the result from the scan because it’s an accurate and complete analysis of your body composition, including fat distribution, lean muscle, and bone density.

How does a DEXA scan work for body composition?

We’ve seen that DEXA stands for dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry, using low-level X-rays to measure body composition.

The name sounds complex, right? Don’t worry about the name. The scan itself is a simple process.

The DEXA scan uses two small X-ray beams that move over your body. Each beam has a different energy level.

These beams measure the level of energy your tissues (muscle, fat, and bone) absorb.

The test process is safe, precise, and reliable. It usually lasts around 8-9 minutes for both body composition and bone density testing.

Your different body tissues absorb X-rays at different rates.

So, the DEXA scan examines the amount of absorption that took place in different areas of the body to create an accurate and exact body composition map.

How a DEXA Scan Helps You Achieve Your Health Goals

Now, let’s go into the details of how the DEXA scan helps you achieve your health goals.

1. Fat Loss Goals

When pursuing fat loss, many people make the mistake of focusing only on weight loss. That’s not bad, but also focus on reducing fat.

A DEXA body scan shows you exactly how much fat you’re losing and where on your body it’s coming from.

If you have visceral fat you wish to lose and want to get healthier, not just lighter, it’s important to do the scan.

If you’ve been searching for a body composition scan near me, DEXA Health in Vancouver provides this type of scan so you can have the correct image of your fat loss progress.

2. Building Lean Muscle

If you’re interested in building lean muscle, a DEXA scan shows you clearly and accurately what your muscle mass looks like.

From what you see, you can tell if your training program is helping you achieve your lean muscle goal.

At DEXA Health, we advise our clients to regularly use a DEXA scan to check their muscle growth, so they can know which exercises should be adjusted for best results.

3. Bone Health and Strength

As we grow older, it’s important to look after our bone health.

These days, we recommend a DEXA scan because it’s the most reliable method for checking bone density and detecting early signs of osteoporosis.

When you know your bone health status, you can make some changes to your fitness routine to help maintain strong bones.

A DEXA test checks your body fat and bone strength. It helps you see what parts of your health need attention first.

What to Expect During a DEXA Scan

Talking about DEXA scan might seem it’s a painful process because of its name. Well, it’s not as you think.

Here’s what to expect when you visit our DEXA scan Vancouver clinic.

1. Fast, Easy, and Non-Invasive

A DEXA body comp scan is usually fast, without pain, and non-invasive.

As mentioned before, the scan typically takes just 8 to 9 minutes. You’ll lie on a table while an arm-like scanner passes over your body.

It’s safe and painless. There’s no special preparation required other than removing any metal objects from you.

2. Low Radiation but Safe

The DEXA scan uses very little radiation, but nothing to worry about since it’s extremely safe.

But the exposure level of a standard X-ray is way higher compared to that of a DEXA scan.

So that’s why DEXA scan is preferably used for regular monitoring of body composition, fat, and bone health.

3. Get Your Results

After the scan is done, you’ll get a full report that shows your body fat, muscle, and bone strength.

At our DEXA Health clinic, we’ll explain these results fully so you can understand. We’ll also provide suggestions on ways to reach your health and fitness goals.

A DEXA body scan gives you clear and useful information, whether you want to lose fat or build muscle.

Are Body Composition Scans Accurate?

In short, yes. A DEXA scan is a precise and reliable measure of body composition. 

According to Mysportcience, DEXA has a standard error of just 1-2%. And it’s more accurate than other measures, like bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) and skinfold measures.

These other 2 have errors of up to 5%.

Who Can Benefit from a DEXA Body Composition Scan?

Once you’re about improving your health, you should do a DEXA scan.

If you are an athlete, fitness enthusiast, have health concerns, want weight loss, or older adult, you can benefit from a DEXA body scan.

Here are a few reasons why you might need it: 

• Looking to improve your performance by tracking muscle mass and fat distribution.
• You want to understand your body composition and adapt your workouts accordingly.
• You need to monitor your bone density if you have concerns like osteoporosis.
• You want to focus on fat loss.
• Aim to preserve bone health and muscle mass as you age.

Conclusion

What you gain from a DEXA body composition scan is that it can help you achieve your health and fitness goals.

At DEXA Health, we’re here to support your goals with clinical excellence and compassionate guidance.

Our body health scan offers a comprehensive evaluation of muscle, fat mass, and bone mass, along with estimates of resting metabolic rate and personalized nutritional guidance.

You can book your DEXA scan with us today and discover how this powerful technology can help you achieve the healthier, fitter version of yourself.