Protocol
DEXA body composition and bone density scanning
DXA · DEXA scan · dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry · body composition scan · bone densitometry
The evidence base is split, and the two halves should not be conflated. For bone mineral density, DEXA is the established diagnostic reference standard, and BMD measured this way has well-documented linkage to fracture risk, which is how the WHO osteoporosis diagnostic thresholds are defined. That is a genuine clinical-grade indication with hard outcome relevance. For the body-composition and general "longevity metric" use, the evidence is materially weaker: DEXA measures body composition accurately, but accurate measurement is not the same as demonstrated benefit. There is no trial evidence that serially scanning asymptomatic adults for visceral fat or lean mass changes mortality, healthspan, or any hard outcome, and the longevity-clinic framing rests on the assumption that a better number drives better behaviour rather than on outcome data. Important caveats on this profile specifically: this session's web search budget was exhausted before any primary literature or guideline source could be retrieved live, so the clinical claims above are stated from general established radiology practice and are NOT backed by a source URL retrieved in this session. Treat the evidence grade as provisional pending a sourced pass. Only the three clinic pages listed in sources were actually opened and verified.
At a glance
- Evidence
- Clinical
- Singapore (HSA)
- No HSA position on file
- Australia (TGA)
- No TGA position on file
- Offered at
- 2 clinics
Singapore
Health Sciences Authority
- HSA status
- No position on file
- In our SG set
- Tracked in Singapore
- SG clinics
- 1
Australia
Therapeutic Goods Administration
- TGA status
- No position on file
- In our AU set
- Tracked in Australia
- AU clinics
- 1
Evidence is not approvalAn evidence grade describes how strong the science is. A regulatory status describes whether a body has approved the intervention for an indication. They are different questions, answered separately above.
What it is
Plain-language explainer
DEXA (dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry) is an imaging test that passes two X-ray beams of differing energy through the body to quantify bone mineral density and to separate the body into fat mass, lean soft tissue and bone. It is long established in radiology as the reference method for diagnosing osteoporosis. In longevity clinics it is more often sold for its second output, a regional body-composition breakdown that distinguishes visceral fat from lean muscle mass, tracked serially as a progress metric.
Categories
Protocol
Keep reading
Related coverage from the newsroom.
Sources
What this profile is built on
- Medical Tests (lists Body Fat % Test and Dexa Scan Test / bone density test) · Everlab (Australia)
- NOVI Health assessments and add-on scans · NOVI Health
- Longevity Medicine (DEXA body composition listed among physical markers in the VITAL Screen) · Advantage Medical Singapore
Every entity profile on variis is sourced. Not medical advice.