What My Results Mean

Your visit will include a report that is six pages long. Please remember that all health metrics pertaining to the report assume no underlying medical conditions. Always speak to your doctor for any health-related concerns or starting any exercise or diet regimen.

PAGE 1

On this page, you will find the results of the scan. You will see columns for Body Fat%, Total Mass, Fat Mass, Lean Mass, and BMC (bone mineral content, or how much your bones weigh). The rows

show totals, right, left, and right/left differences for Arms, Legs, Trunk, Android (your waist), Gynoid (your hips), and Totals. The Body Fat% on this page is a soft tissue percentage, meaning we don’t include the skeleton. Your Total Mass may not match the weight in your header. The header weight is the scale weight, where the Total Mass number in blue is the weight the machine measured. This will be the weight used for the rest of the report. Adding your Lean Mass to your BMC will give you the recommended daily protein requirements for maintaining lean tissue. Just change the unit of measure from pounds to grams. Please consult your doctor before upping protein if you have any kidney issues.

Your BMI is included. Please keep in mind that your BMI is weight divided by height squared. We will break the BMI down into three individual measurements in the report.

The information at the bottom is for comparison with previous scans. Your image on the right is a snapshot of your current composition. Red is lean mass, yellow/orange is fat, and white is bone.

PAGE 2

You will find your BMD (bone mineral density) and BMC (bone mineral content) along the top row. You will also see comparison data. Centiles are age, sex, and ethnic-specific rankings. Please read it as “higher than”. We use the NIH NHANES 1999-2004 database for these rankings. Comparison data will not be available for Other or Asian. Z-scores are the standard deviation from the median of your age, sex, and ethnic group.

Your Composition data shows your official body fat %. Optimal health is considered to be between 18 to 30 percent for women, 10 to 25 percent for men.

Your Limbs Lean Mass, also called ALMI (appendicular lean mass index) is the portion of your BMI that is arm and leg lean tissue. Notice that the graph will start to trend downward after approximately age 50. This process is known as sarcopenia, the loss of lean tissue as we age.

PAGE 3

This is the result of your bone density screening. Please keep in mind that this is just a screening. If you have a history of bone density issues, are a woman over the age of 50, or are experiencing bone breaks from non-traumatic events, please see your doctor to schedule a full bone density scan.

The image on the left shows your skeleton. The darker the bone, the more dense it is. The image on the right is a body fat percentage map. Reds are over 60%, yellow 25 to 60%, greens under 25%

PAGE 4

Our adipose (or fat) data. Your total amount of fat is listed in the pink box to the right.

Your Android/Gynoid (waist/hip) body fat percentage ratio is listed under A/G Ratio. The recommended percentage for women is below .86, and for men below .95. The higher you are above these ratios, the higher your risk for metabolic disease.

Your Visceral Adipose Tissue (VAT) is located under your abdominal muscles, directly surrounding the organs. Too much VAT can distend the abdominal muscle, forcing the fat to squeeze your organs. VAT is also metabolically active fat. Too much VAT can interfere with hormones, particularly insulin and cortisol. We would like to see the volume under 60 inches cubed.

PAGE 5

The top left and right data shows the breakdown of the BMI. The upper left is your Fat Mass Index (FMI). Your ratio (portion) of your BMI that is fat should be between 5-9 for women, 3 to 6 for men.

Top right is your Lean Mass Index (also know as FFMI, or Fat-Free Mass Index). A healthy Lean Mass Index depends on overall health and fitness level.

The bottom left data shows the body fat percentage ratio between the trunk and the legs. The bottom right data shows the ratio between the actual amount of fat in the trunk versus the actual amount of fat in the arms and legs. Ideally, this number should be below 1.

PAGE 6

This chart is a bigger breakdown of your body. The Tissue %Fat is body fat percentages without the skeleton, the Region %Fat is body fat percentages that include the skeleton. Fat mass ratios show the different proportions of fat percentages. Estimated Visceral Adipose is the volume and mass of your visceral adipose tissue. The Resting Metabolic Rate is the number of calories needed to sustain your lean tissue at rest. Dropping below this number can result in the loss of lean tissue while holding on to fat. Your Relative Skeletal Muscle Index is the portion of your BMI that is arm and leg lean tissue.

 At DXA Body Composition NC, we appreciate you using our facility and are happy to answer any additional questions or concerns.