any experience with DEXA scans?!?

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el8942
el8942 Posts: 13 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I got a DEXA scan for a baseline bone density, which was fine, but they also did a scan for body composition at the same time. I thought it would be nice to know my body fat %, just to know where I am at this part of my journey. I was guessing it would come back around 30-33% based on caliper measurements. Well, I was stunned. It came back as 41%!!!! Which puts me in an "obese" category, even though I am technically a normal BMI.

Is this a fluke? Can the measurement really be this wildly off? For reference, I'm 5'3" and 135 lbs, my waist is 27", and I am fairly active. I run 10-15 miles a week, generally walk 30 min a day, and lift weights about 3x a week. If I really have 41% body fat, where is it hiding? And what do I do about it? :(

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  • chrisdavey
    chrisdavey Posts: 9,834 Member
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    you don't have a profile pic. How is anyone supposed to know if it is accurate?
  • el8942
    el8942 Posts: 13 Member
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    you don't have a profile pic. How is anyone supposed to know if it is accurate?

    I appreciate that you are trying to help, but to clarify, I'm not interested in having people on MFP estimate my body fat from pictures. (I prefer to dress modestly, and so I am also not comfortable putting revealing pictures of myself on the internet.) I just want to find out if the DEXA scan for body composition is accurate, and if anyone else has had this kind of discrepancy with it.
  • chrisdavey
    chrisdavey Posts: 9,834 Member
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    Yes, I have had dexa scans and I have no idea how I would work out if it was 100% accurate or not but AFAIK they are one of the most accurate BF% calculation methods. A friend had one that was apparently on a machine which needed calibrating and read way off. (to her expectations).
  • rachaelfisher1
    rachaelfisher1 Posts: 69
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    I got a DEXA scan for a baseline bone density, which was fine, but they also did a scan for body composition at the same time. I thought it would be nice to know my body fat %, just to know where I am at this part of my journey. I was guessing it would come back around 30-33% based on caliper measurements. Well, I was stunned. It came back as 41%!!!! Which puts me in an "obese" category, even though I am technically a normal BMI.

    Is this a fluke? Can the measurement really be this wildly off? For reference, I'm 5'3" and 135 lbs, my waist is 27", and I am fairly active. I run 10-15 miles a week, generally walk 30 min a day, and lift weights about 3x a week. If I really have 41% body fat, where is it hiding? And what do I do about it? :(

    It's probably accurate. I got one about two months ago from a company called Measure Up in Sydney. Problem with body fat percentages, especially amongst women is that they think it's lower than what it is in reality.

    On the report it should say you lean body mass in grams, and your body fat in grams.. from that you'll be able to determine whether it is accurate. DEXA scans are probably the most accurate body % examine you can undertake, so instead of being in denial you can change it. Increase muscle mass by weightlifting and decrease fat through diet.

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