To help screen for osteoporosis and measure body fat in patients

Women’s Digital Imaging of Ridgewood (WDI), has begun using Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DXA), a technology developed to screen for osteoporosis (bone loss), to measure body fat in patients who want an accurate method of establishing goals and measuring results for weight management and fitness programs.

While Body Mass Index (BMI) has been a standard measuring tool, it does not distinguish muscle from fat. WDI has claimed that DXA analysis measures the percentage of lean muscle, fat tissue mass, bone mineral density (BMD) and bone mineral content (BMC) in the whole body and specific regions such as trunk, arms, legs and pelvis.

The results provided by DXA imaging can help health care professionals treat conditions such as obesity, anorexia nervosa, cystic fibrosis, and chronic renal failure. It can also help athletes develop training programs to achieve optimal performance, said the company.

Lisa Weinstock, director of WDI, said: “Knowing your ratio of fat to lean body mass helps you determine how to reshape your body correctly. With DXA analysis, you can show patients where they have to make changes and measure how successful they are in making them.”