DEXA Body Composition Scan

The Longevity Lab Perth offers DEXA (Dual-Energy X-ray Absorptiometry) body composition scanning to precisely quantify fat mass, lean muscle mass, bone mineral density, and regional fat distribution including visceral fat. Results provide an objective baseline for body composition optimisation and are used within the clinic's Longevity Transformation programme to track changes in response to lifestyle, nutrition, and exercise interventions.

DEXA (Dual-Energy X-ray Absorptiometry) scanning at The Longevity Lab in Perth, Western Australia, delivers one of the most accurate body composition assessments available outside a research laboratory. Unlike bathroom scales, bioelectrical impedance, or even hydrostatic weighing, DEXA uses two calibrated X-ray beams at different energy levels to distinguish and precisely quantify three tissue components across the entire body: fat mass, lean soft tissue (predominantly muscle), and bone mineral content. This three-compartment analysis enables the clinic to calculate total body fat percentage, lean body mass in kilograms, and bone mineral density (BMD) at the lumbar spine, femoral neck, and total hip — providing both a longevity-relevant body composition baseline and an osteoporosis screening tool within a single 10–15 minute scan. Critically, DEXA provides regional body composition data, allowing The Longevity Lab's clinicians to assess android (abdominal) versus gynoid (hip/thigh) fat distribution and — most importantly for longevity — to estimate visceral adipose tissue (VAT) levels. Visceral fat, stored around the abdominal organs rather than subcutaneously, is metabolically active and is strongly associated with insulin resistance, systemic inflammation, cardiovascular risk, and accelerated biological ageing; it is not quantifiable from weight or BMI alone. The skeletal muscle index (lean mass relative to height) can also be calculated from DEXA data, enabling assessment of sarcopenia — the age-related progressive loss of muscle mass and strength that is now recognised as an independent predictor of morbidity, functional decline, and mortality in older adults. For Perth and Western Australia residents engaging with The Longevity Lab's Longevity Transformation programme, DEXA scanning provides the objective baseline measurement against which the impact of nutrition, resistance training, and hormonal optimisation interventions can be tracked over time with precision and reproducibility.