Specialists in DEXA: Osteoporosis & Obesity Detection, Prevention & Awareness

• From age 20, one starts losing muscle & gaining fat. Weighing scales or looking at oneself can't tell how much body fat one has. By doing a DEXA assessment, you can see right away the changes in your body composition and be proactive in your health, disease prevention & well being.
• It is not your weight or body mass index (BMI) that matters, but your body fat percentage. Remember, "Measure Body Fat Correctly - Manage Body Fat Effectively"
  

• DEXA stands for Dual-Energy X-ray Absorptiometry
• The show "The Biggest Loser, Tim Ferris author of the 4hourBody, The Green Bay Packers & Olympic Training Teams use DEXA Total Body Composition Studies to provide benchmark for performance enhancement & to provide a graphic visual image of weight loss & changes in percent body fat.
• Tim Ferris states in his book the 4HrBody "DEXA is my favorite option for measuring body fat percentage, as the results include valuable information besides body composition, including mass imbalances and bone density"
• Results from a Total Body Composition Using DEXA Technology can motivate WEIGHT LOSS!!! DEXA scans can be a powerful motivational tool for patients tracking their weight loss, nutrition, exercise, rehabilitation & overall health 
• One's body fat percentage is superior to the currently accepted body mass index (BMI), as a measure of healthy weight!

Why is DEXA the GOLD STANDARD to measure body fat?

• The only modality that uses a 3 Dimensional model to measure body fat as it divides the body into Fat Tissue Mass (Subcutaneous Fat & Internal Visceral Fat), Lean Muscle Mass and Total Body Mineral Content (Total Skeletal Mass & Bone Density).
• The total body scan shows the skeleton & soft tissue. It gives a direct measurement of the percent body fat for the entire body as well as sub regions. It can show the muscle, fat & bone in grams for the entire body as well as per the arm, leg, & trunk
• The total body composition test looks at the distribution of fat using the android (waist) to gynoid (hip)ratio. Carrying too much fat in the wrong areas can increase your chance of serious health problems. Men with waist to hip ratio of > 1 & women with ratio > 0.8 have increased risk of cardiovascular illness. Having an apple shaped body (excess fat around abdomen, trunk and inside the abdominal cavity) can increase one's risk for diabetes & heart disease. Pear shaped body types (excess fat around hips, thigh & buttocks) are less prone to harmful illness.
  
  
• This accurate & precise technique actually shows how much fat you are losing!  Scales are misleading since body weight is comprised of muscle, fat and bone all added together.  Scales can't distinguish if you are actually losing weight & gaining muscle mass!  Total Body Composition Scans "provide far more complete and precise information that can help support diagnoses and guide treatment, and can even help athletes make decisions on the training regimens they use to achieve the best performance. "

What are the advantages of measuring percent body fat using DEXA technology?

• Accuracy, reproducibility, safety, fast, simple and ease of test - true benchmark for accuracy in assessing body composition, no other technique can match the results obtained from DEXA!
• Measurements of body composition help show how lean mass and body fat change during health and disease i.e. an athlete or weight lifter wanting to achieve a low ratio of fat to lean tissue mass
• Accurate measure of weight management & fitness programs - DEXA will monitor body fat loss and muscle growth from diet & exercise - It is very important to know what you are losing; maximizing fat loss & minimizing lean muscle loss
• Prevention of Disease & Better Quality of Life
• Promoting Healthier Lifestyle & Eating Habits

What is involved in a Total Body Composition Test Using DEXA Technology?

• The procedure consists of the patient lying down on the machine for about 6 minutes with a low dose x-ray and it's totally painless. The patient breathes normally but should remain still. The radiation is lower than a cross country flight. Preparation: Female patients can't be pregnant - Patients should wear clothing with no metal, no zippers, no metal buttons, and all jewellery should be removed.
• DEXA scans use two kinds of X-ray beams. One of the beams is a higher energy beam, the other of a lower intensity. The lower intensity beam is only absorbed by soft tissue in the body such as muscle and fat, where as the higher intensity beam gets absorbed both by bones and by soft tissue. These differences in absorption are used to determine bone mineral density (BMD) and body composition values.
• As you can see, the radiation dose from this test is very minimal: Radiation Effective dose (uSv)
  Lunar iDXA total body composition study (Standard mode) 4.7
  One week ski vacation 15.0
  Chest x-ray 50.0
  Round trip transcontinental flight 60.0
  Mammogram 450.0
  Lateral lumbar spine x-ray 700.0
  Natural annual background radiation 2400.0

Why is DEXA the ideal test, better than the other methods of measuring body fat?

• Skin calipers: Measures only fat under the skin, high source of technical error, not good for lean or obese people
• Bioelectrical impedence analysis (BIA): High rate of false positive and false negative results, too many variables to control
• Underwater Weighting: Being submerged in water, heavy equipment, time consuming
• Bod Pod: Only a two dimensional pictures, not readily available, very expensive
• CT: Very high dose of radiation and expensive, not readily available for body fat measurement
• MRI: Extremely expensive, not readily available for body fat measurement

Why is DEXA such an important tool in determining health risks?

• IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO KNOW YOUR BODY FAT - Body weight alone is not a clear indicator of good health because it does not distinguish how many pounds are from fat and how many are from lean body mass. It is not the amount of weight measured but the amount of fat one has in their body that is potentially dangerous to one's health.
• Excessive body fat is a serious health risk & can increase one's risk for diabetes, heart disease, cholesterol, hypertension, gout, joint disease, musculo-skeletal problems, certain types of cancers (women: cancers of the uterus, gallbladder, cervix, ovary, breast, and colon), (men: cancers of the colon, rectum, and prostate), gall bladder disease, sleep apnea, & respiratory distress
• Inadequate amounts of body fat can lead to malnutrition, osteoporosis, or be a result of serious eating disorders such as anorexia or bulimia.The body needs a certain amount of fat to regulate our body temperature, insulate our internal organs and provide our body's energy storage.

Why should one get a Total Body Composition Test Using DEXA?

• If you are trying to lose weight & want to monitor body fat loss and muscle growth from exercise; DEXA is an accurate measure of weight management and fitness programs
• If you are proactive in your health and wants to reduce the risks of heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, cancer and obesity. Also, if you have a family history of the aforementioned conditions, one is at greater risk?
• If you are an athlete or weight lifter who's trying to achieve a low ratio of fat to lean tissue mass i.e. Swimmer - How much muscle do I have the in the trunk region? Quarter Back Player - How much muscle did I lose in my right arm after injury - Did you know that the Green Bay Packers & Olympic Training Teams use DXA Total Body Composition Studies to "provide benchmark for performance enhancement.  "  DEXA can be used to track muscle atrophy from injury & muscle gain during rehabilitation.
• Provides a baseline data for nutritional counseling and treatment of obesity
• If you have the following conditions which can affect the fat levels in your body: Diabetes, Cardiovascular Disease, High Cholesterol Levels or Hypertension, Nutritional/Eating Disorders i.e. Anorexia Nervosa, Secondary Osteoporosis, Hyperparathyroidism, Cushing's Syndrome, Muscular Dystrophy, Cancer, Aids, Aging, Undergoing metabolic studies, Undergoing Growth Hormone Treatment, Undergoing Anabolic Steroid Therapy

What are some of the Terminology associated with DEXA Scans?

DEXA: Dual Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry
FAT MASS: Includes all the fatty tissue in the body i.e. fatty tissue found within the organs of the body & also the subcutaneous fat found under the skin.
LEAN MASS: Sum of all muscle and soft organ tissue
BMC: Bone mineral content - Sum of all skeletal tissue within the body
BMD: Bone mineral density - Amount of bone mineral content within a certain area
TISSUE % FAT:  fat(g) / fat(g) + lean(g) x 100
REGION % FAT:  fat(g) / tissue(g) + BMC x 100
Z SCORES:  Average tissue fat percentage for a person's age
THREE COMPARTMENT MODEL: DEXA differentiates the body into three sub-types of tissue: Bone, lean and fat mass. Most methods of body composition analysis such as skinfold measurements, Bioelectric impedance analysis (BIA) & Hydrostatic weighing use a two compartment model that only classifies the body as having fat mass and fat-free mass.

Get your test at The Bone Wellness Centre - CALL 416-405-8881 - No preparation required!