We’ve developed a comprehensive six-step process that acts as your personal health roadmap, to follow towards your health goals.
Stepping on a scale gives you a number, but it leaves out the important part, what that number actually means. At Longevity Clinic, we use tools that show you the full picture, not just a snapshot. The DEXA Body Composition Scan is one of them. It’s there for people who want to understand their bodies properly before they make changes. Whether someone comes in for weight loss, managing menopause symptoms, improving strength, dealing with ED, hair loss concerns, or just to check where they stand with their health, this scan gives a starting point that’s clear and measurable.
The scan looks right inside the body without being invasive or uncomfortable. It shows fat mass, lean muscle mass, bone density, and the deeper fat that hides around organs. This is the kind of detail you can’t get from a bathroom scale or a tape measure. When you see those numbers, you know exactly what’s happening inside, whether the fat is shifting, whether muscle is being built or lost, whether bones are holding their strength.
We don’t just run the scan and send you on your way. We sit down with you after, explain what’s in the report, point out what matters most for your health goals, and help you work out what to do next.
With a single scan, you’ll see:
DEXA stands for Dual X-ray Absorptiometry. The name’s long, but the idea is simple. You lie down on a padded table. A scanning arm moves slowly above you. It uses two low-level X-ray beams to see how much of your body is fat, how much is lean muscle, and how much is bone. There’s no tunnel, no noise, and nothing touches you. It’s over in minutes.
It’s not the same as weighing yourself or working out your BMI. Two people can have the same weight, but one might have more muscle and less fat while the other has less muscle and more fat. BMI won’t show that difference. The DEXA scan will.
It also measures bone mineral density, which is vital for long-term health. That makes it useful not just for athletes or people on weight loss programs, but for anyone who wants to keep track of their health properly. If you’re trying to gain muscle, lose fat, or make sure your bones are staying strong, the scan gives you the evidence. It’s clearer than guessing from the mirror or waiting for a yearly check-up.
The scan itself is only part of it. What matters is how the information gets used. We make sure the results mean something for you. We look at them alongside your goals and, if you’re on one of our programs, we use them to track real changes.
If you’re aiming for fat loss, the scan shows whether the fat is actually going down without losing muscle. If you’re going through menopause, it tells us if bone density is holding steady and if muscle mass is staying where it needs to be. If strength is your focus, we can see if muscle mass is climbing and where it’s being built.
Everything is done with equipment that’s accurate and well-maintained, but more importantly, with a team that explains the results in plain language. You’ll know where you’re improving and where to focus next. It’s not a quick handover of a printout, it’s a proper conversation about your health and what to do with the numbers in front of you.
A DEXA scan doesn’t just spit out a single score. It gives a full breakdown that can guide what you do next.
With all this information, we can help you see exactly where you stand. Then we focus on changing the parts that will make the biggest difference to your health.
When you arrive, we make sure your appointment details are confirmed, and you’re given the time to mention anything we should know whether it’s a current health concern or a specific goal you want the scan to focus on. This short conversation shapes the way we interpret the results later.
The room where the scan is done is quiet, open, and simple. The table is flat and padded. You lie down, and the scanning arm moves slowly above you. Nothing touches you, there’s no enclosed space, and there’s no discomfort. The scan uses a very low level of X-rays enough to give accurate images, far less than you might expect, and well within safety limits.
The scan itself doesn’t take long. Often it’s over in under ten minutes. With the initial discussion and the review at the end, most visits take about half an hour. No fasting is required, no need to skip breakfast or change your routine. It helps if you wear light clothing without heavy seams, metal fasteners, or belts, but there’s no special preparation otherwise.
As soon as it’s finished, the results are ready. We go through them together straight away, explain what each part means, and relate it back to the goals you discussed at the start. The aim is that you leave knowing exactly what the scan found, rather than waiting days for a summary.
Many people base their progress on weight alone, but weight doesn’t tell you what’s actually changing in the body. Muscle could be lost while fat stays the same. Bone strength might be declining without any visible signs. These changes aren’t picked up by a mirror or a scale.
The DEXA scan removes the uncertainty. It shows what’s happening inside the amount of fat, the lean muscle, and the density of the bones. That detail means your goals can be specific and realistic. If we see high visceral fat but good muscle levels, we focus on reducing the fat while preserving muscle. If bone density is lower than expected, we add steps to strengthen it.
The scan fits into our other programs easily. For weight loss, we can see if fat is dropping while muscle stays steady. For menopause management, it’s about keeping an eye on both bone density and muscle mass. For people training for fitness, we can see if the right areas are improving. And for longer-term health plans, it becomes a way to compare results over time and make changes when needed.
Some of the ways we use the scan include tracking fat loss without muscle loss, monitoring bone health through hormonal changes, checking strength gains from training, and reviewing overall progress for long-term health goals. It’s a practical tool, not just a set of numbers, and it’s designed to help you make changes that are effective and safe.
Fat has two types. The most commonly thought of is the one beneath the skin, the subcutaneous fat. It can be seen and easily quantified and though excess of it can be dangerous, it is not the most dangerous.
It is not the case with visceral fat. It accumulates more deep in the body, around organs such as the liver, pancreas and the heart. You cannot see it and you cannot feel it but it can affect health significantly. It is associated with increased risks of heart disease, diabetes type 2, dementia, some cancers and liver disease. It may also influence the hormones and cause an inflammation in the body that gradually destroys tissue.
You can be of normal weight, and have a lot of visceral fat. It is therefore good to take it directly and not to come up with everything is okay because the scale looks good. The DEXA scan is very clear and thus we know where you are.
As soon as it is discovered, it is something that can be diminished by implementing specific adjustments to the activity, diet, and general health planning. This is because when you know that it is there, you can be able to handle it before it becomes a major issue.
The scan is rather a starting point than an end. We do not just hand you a report to go home with and read. The results are interpreted and it shows where you are going good and where action can make a difference.
Based on those findings, we develop a strategy that is right for you. That may involve initiating a diet strategy that includes weight loss by losing fat but retaining muscle, incorporating exercises to strengthen bones, or altering diet to aid in recovery and development. All the recommendations are directly related to what the scan indicates so you can know why it is there.
It will be possible to book follow-up scans to assess the progress of things. Depending on their objectives, some individuals prefer to come back in a few months, others once a year. Between these, there is availability of other services within the clinic nutrition guidance, exercise prescription and health programs that fit with your scan results.
Our job is to ensure the data in your scan is turned into something valuable, leading to actual change in your health and over time keeping you on path.
Many people have tried bioelectrical impedance machines at gyms or home scales that estimate body fat percentage, but those can shift depending on hydration or meal timing. The DEXA scan measures body fat percentage, lean tissue, and bone mass directly using bone densitometry, so the readings are more consistent. It also breaks down fat distribution, not just the total number, so you know where changes are happening.
It’s not just about Total Body Fat percentage. The scan reports bone mass, lean tissue levels, and body fat distribution across different regions arms, legs, trunk. That’s why it’s more useful than a single weight or BMI number. You’ll see if the fat loss or gain is in one area more than another, which can be important for setting the right program.
Yes. The radiation dose from a DEXA scan is very low, far lower than most medical imaging and much less than a standard X-ray. You lie still on the scanning bed while the arm moves over you, and it’s done in minutes. It’s non-invasive, no discomfort, and no recovery time needed afterward.
The scan will show your body fat percentage and how it compares to a healthy range for your age and gender. But it also gives more context like your muscle mass and bone mass so the discussion is not just about one number. Sometimes body fat percentage can look high but muscle levels are excellent, or bone density is above average, which changes how we look at the results.
Two people can have the same body fat percentage but completely different health profiles. Someone with more visceral fat may have higher risks than someone with the same percentage stored mainly under the skin. The scan maps your body fat distribution clearly, so we can see if the fat is concentrated in certain areas and if it’s affecting overall health.
