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INDUSTRY NEWS Broader access to DEXA on the cards
The Department of Health is working to relax the law that currently prohibits access to DEXA scans without a medical referral, bringing the UK into line with Australia, the United States and Canada.
DEXA (dual energy X-ray absorptiometry) was originally invented to detect signs of osteoporosis and is now universally regarded as the most accurate method for measuring body composition. Precise to a single gram, it provides data for body fat, lean mass and bone not just for the body overall but for each arm, each leg and the trunk.
A change in the rules will bring hospital-grade imaging technology (as opposed to consumer-industry gadgets) to the fitness industry, giving professionals and their clients accurate, meaningful data on
which to base and monitor exercise and diet programmes.
As well as being accurate, DEXA is also quick, painless and non-invasive. It is not affected by hydration, humidity, poor calibration, human error, clothing, ethnicity, what you had to eat or when you ate it. All the client has to do is lie still while a scanning arm passes overhead. This helps explain why the team doctors at Chelsea FC, Arsenal FC, and the Saracens and Harlequins rugby clubs prescribe DEXA to help their teams achieve optimum fitness and manage their way back from injuries.
Individuals who have a scan are usually highly motivated to embark on a guided fitness programme, not least because of the colour DEXA image showing the distribution of fat around the body. An honest picture speaks
a thousand words, which can be good news for a personal trainer.
Beyond the image, DEXA’s hard data shows the amounts of fat, lean tissue and bone in each limb and the trunk. Much more meaningful (and motivating) for a person to see fat going down and muscle going up, rather than the wild and meaningless swings of a set of scales. Moreover, DEXA’s X-ray vision sees all fat, including the unseen, toxic visceral variety that surrounds the organs and is the cause of so much ill-health.
With BMI increasingly discredited, fitness industry pros will be pleased to know that DEXA provides more meaningful indices of health based on lean mass and fat. One such Fat Mass Index (FMI) is the A/G ratio – the proportion of android (upper body) to gynoid (lower body) fat
– which is recommended to be less than one.
When non-medical DEXA body composition scans become available, you can use them to prove to your clients beyond doubt the difference you are making. You’ll be able to target optimum body composition ratios for specific sports, balance muscle mass on both sides of the body and make informed changes to exercise and diet based on unequivocal medical data. What’s more, trend reports that place consecutive scans’ data and images side by side will act as a powerful motivator for your clients to stick with you. With DEXA, you can differentiate your services and demonstrate you are 21st century fitness professional.
For more information visit www.bodyscanuk.com
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