Measuring body fat: why is it important?

Firstly, measuring your body fat is important for determining how fit you are. It is a well-known fact that muscle weighs more than fat. It’s hard to know whether the weight you are carrying is positive weight (muscle) or negative weight (fat). Even if three people are the same height, and appear to have similar builds, they can still differ in weight on account of their body-fat percentage. 

Often, athletes appear medically overweight when they use scales. In actual fact, they just have increased amounts of muscle. They usually have a low body-fat: male athletes usually have 6 – 13% body fat, and female athletes usually have 14 – 20%.

Whether you are an athlete or not, measuring body-fat is important to ascertain how healthy you are. Excess fat around the abdomen can contribute to high risks of diabetes, poor circulation, heart disease and cancer. 

There are many different kinds of fat, the most dangerous of which is ‘visceral fat’. This often accumulates around the abdomen and is the result of eating fatty foods or consuming too much alcohol. Finding out just how much fat you have accumulated by having a DEXA body composition scan can let you know whether you have a good diet, and help discover what you can do to become healthier. 

Our DEXA body composition scans are accurate, precise and consistent. They will provide you with a detailed analysis of your body-fat percentage and allow you to fully understand your body. Our cutting edge technology will help you avoid the dangerous effects of excess body fat including diabetes, poor circulation, heart disease and cancer. Countless people who have had a DEXA body scan agree that we provide the best way to measure body fat. 

If you are looking to build muscle we can help with that too. Our highly-trained team will let you know exactly what you need to do to build muscle and become fitter, happier and stronger.