Body Composition Assessments

Overview

How do you track true success? The scale will never tell you the whole truth. You eat right, you work hard and push yourself to achieve your sports or fitness goals. But how do you really know you are successful? Women’s Clinic of Lincoln, P.C. has just added an innovative system by Hologic to our offerings that allows you to get the true picture of the key indicators that you are successfully transforming your body in the way you want. The Advanced Body Composition® assessment will give men or women precise measurements of bone density, body fat and muscle mass, enabling you to track your body composition changes and the genuine effects of your training regimen.

We have chosen the Horizon™ DXA system by Hologic as we believe it offers the best technology available. Please contact us if you have any questions or would like to schedule an appointment.

What

The Advanced Body Composition® exam is a quick, low dose X-ray exam that measures the three main tissues of the human body: fat, lean mass, and bone. It may help your health professional assess what level of exercise or intervention is needed to maintain a good ratio between fat and lean muscle mass.

    Who

    An Advanced Body Composition® assessment is suitable for men or women on weight management programs as well as athletes in training. It is also used for monitoring certain diseases such as Sarcopenia and Lipodystrophy and the effects of some medical therapies.

    For those on weight management programs, the results may determine your risk of developing obesity-related conditions such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome and osteoarthritis. The exam precisely measures how much fat is present and where the fat is distributed in the body.

    Knowing where the fat is located may make a considerable difference in health outcomes. Too much fat around abdominal organs such as the liver, for instance, can be much worse than excess fat just under the skin as it contributes more greatly to obesity-related diseases.

    An Advanced Body Composition® assessment is also commonly used as a measurement tool by athletes in training or rehabilitation to monitor neuromuscular changes and the effects of physical training over time. The results will show how your lean mass and fat is distributed to help you put yourself on the road to success. Ask your healthcare professional if Advanced Body Composition® is suitable for you.

    Preparing for the Assessment

    • Unless instructed otherwise, eat normally on the day of the exam; but avoid taking calcium supplements for at least 24 hours prior to your appointment.
    • Wear comfortable clothing without zippers, buttons or any metal.
    • You should not have had a barium study, radioisotope injections, oral or intravenous contrast material from a CT scan or MRI within 7 days prior to your Advanced Body Composition® assessment.