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Magazine
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Robert Lufkin, MD: The NYT Bestselling Author on Metabolic Health, Prevention, and What Your Doctor Isn’t Testing
11 min read
-
Testosterone Optimisation, Part 1: The Nutritional Foundation
10 min read
-
Red Light Therapy for Brain and Gut Health
6 min read
Weekly picks on longevity, brands, and health science. No spam—unsubscribe anytime.
Community Discussions
Body composition scans – how accurate are they?
DEXA is considered the gold standard, but what about the other options?
Smart scales at home and gym machines with hand grips are everywhere these days. Some people track their numbers regularly, like muscle mass, fat percentage, water, and more. But how accurate are these devices really?
And is it even useful to track body composition that closely in the first place?
Do you track your body composition, and if so, what do you personally use or trust?
@marie-berry @ayse-kocak @johan-hedevaag
DEXA is considered the gold standard, but what about the other options?
Smart scales at home and gym machines with hand grips are everywhere these days. Some people track their numbers regularly, like muscle mass, fat percentage, water, and more. But how accurate are these devices really?
And is it even useful to track body composition that closely in the first place?
Do you track your body composition, and if so, what do you personally use or trust?
@marie-berry @ayse-kocak @johan-hedevaag
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I only use Dexa scan for myself and all our patients. Have tried many bio impedance (InBody etc) scales over the years but none seem to correlate strongly with Dexa, no matter what the supplier says. They almost always underestimate fat percentage eg.
MRI is also very exact but overkill if this is the only use case.
I only use Dexa scan for myself and all our patients. Have tried many bio impedance (InBody etc) scales over the years but none seem to correlate strongly with Dexa, no matter what the supplier says. They almost always underestimate fat percentage eg.
MRI is also very exact but overkill if this is the only use case.
After 6+ years in longevity medicine working with 500+ clients and analyzing over 200+ biomarkers per person, here's my take:
DEXA is the gold standard as smart scales consistently underestimate body fat by 3-8kg and overestimate muscle mass.
Body composition is most valuable when integrated with other health data; hormones, metabolic markers, gut health, inflammation. Clients focusing solely on body fat percentages often miss more critical indicators like visceral fat distribution or metabolic dysfunction.
Bottom line: For serious health optimization, invest in periodic DEXA scans. For daily accountability, quality BIA devices work fine, just focus on trends, not absolute numbers, and remember it's one piece of a larger health puzzle.
After 6+ years in longevity medicine working with 500+ clients and analyzing over 200+ biomarkers per person, here's my take:
DEXA is the gold standard as smart scales consistently underestimate body fat by 3-8kg and overestimate muscle mass.
Body composition is most valuable when integrated with other health data; hormones, metabolic markers, gut health, inflammation. Clients focusing solely on body fat percentages often miss more critical indicators like visceral fat distribution or metabolic dysfunction.
Bottom line: For serious health optimization, invest in periodic DEXA scans. For daily accountability, quality BIA devices work fine, just focus on trends, not absolute numbers, and remember it's one piece of a larger health puzzle.
Retail devices like smart scales may be a bit better than in the past and help you to detect some tendencies, but I would not trust the absolute values on fat and muscles they provide. The results are just too different device by device.
Retail devices like smart scales may be a bit better than in the past and help you to detect some tendencies, but I would not trust the absolute values on fat and muscles they provide. The results are just too different device by device.
