FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

This is a frequent question and the short answer is ‘no’ (but it depends on your objectives). If your prime reason for having the DEXA scan is low bone density or osteoporosis, then please do NOT book a body scan with us.

Whilst the machine is the same for measuring bone density and body composition, they are two very different types of scan. The Bodyscan report DOES give a good indication of your bone density but this is only an indication and not a definitive, diagnosable result. In other words, it’s not a result a doctor would make any firm decisions on.

Nevertheless, if the indication was unusually high or low then we would advise you see your GP or a bone specialist for specialist advice.

However, if your primary reason for coming to Bodyscan is your body composition (which it should be!) then the indication of your bone density is certainly very useful to know. As your bone density is unknown (until you break a bone or have a bone scan) we have had many customers we’ve advised to seek specialist medical attention based on the body scan’s bone density indication.

If you require a dedicated bone scan in relation to low bone density and osteoporosis, you can request these from your GP or get one privately. Our host clinic in Marylebone, London Medical, performs these one day a week and you can arrange them by calling 08000 483 330. For facilities local to you, Google ‘private DEXA bone scan’.

It’s perfectly safe to have a DEXA scan during your menstrual cycle.

(The only ‘condition’ for which you should not have a scan is being pregnant. If you think you may be pregnant, we will not permit you to have a scan.)

However, a scan during or immediately before your period is not advised because you may retain body water that is not present ordinarily. Body water is measured as a component of ‘lean body mass’, which for all intents and purposes is counted as ‘muscle mass’. Lean mass is actually everything that is not fat or bone, so as well as muscle mass it includes your organs, ligaments, tendons, skin – and water.

If you have one scan during your period (or any other time you retain water or experience ‘bloat’) and another scan without the retention, then a drop of, say, 2kg in body water will appear as a drop in lean mass. But it is not the case that you have lost 2kg of skeletal muscle.

We can never really point to changes in lean body mass and say, “it’s all muscle” or “this much is muscle and this much is water.” But it is best practice to be – as far as is possible – in the same physiological state for each scan.

Incidentally, changes in body water will have almost no effect on the DEXA measurement of fat mass,

How old do you have to be to have a scan? The minimum age we can scan is 18 years old. Please bring photo ID if you look younger!

Bodyscan’s DEXA scanner has a maximum weight limit of 190kg (that’s 418 pounds or 29 stone).

If you are very heavy and very large, your whole body will probably not fit within the width of the scanning table. The DEXA software is ready for this and enables us to position you with your left arm outside the scanning area, and then mirrors the data from your right arm to your left. This is standard practice for clients who are physcially very big.

You can see from the image below how the client’s left arm is off the table, and the data is identical for left arm and right arm in the table below.

Height is not an issue. Although the table has a scanning length of about 192cm (about 6’3″), if you are taller than this we will leave part of your head outside of the scanning area. This is fine because we are interested in the composition of your body, not your head!

The scan image below shows a man of 198cm, with part of his head outside the scanning area.

The actual scan takes less than four minutes but your first appointment with a consultation (the Baseline scan) lasts up to an hour. It is to ensure you fully understand everything in the report, interpret your personal results and give you the opportunity to ask any questions you might have.

When you have a follow-up scan to check your progress, the scan is exactly the same but there is no detailed consultation. The appointment is just 20 minutes, which is enough time to briefly discuss what progress you have made since your previous scan.

One of the pages of your Progress report will show precise changes in fat and lean mass between your latest scan and the previous scans (up to five previous scans).

It is a universal recommendation that all your scans take place on the same machine at the same location for the most reliable comparison between scans.

Even though our two scanners are very closely calibrated, we do not recommend that you regularly switch between machines.

Our consultants are currently Philip, Rob, Kevin and Arthur, and there is more about each of them under Contact > Meet the Team or click here.

If you would like your appointment with a specific consultant, please drop an email to [email protected] and we’ll let you know when they are working. Unfortunately it’s not possible to specify a particular consultant during the online booking process.

It is absolutely fine to have a scan while breastfeeding.

However, it is NOT OK to have a scan while pregnant. We will ask you to confirm your pregnancy status and will not scan you if there is a chance you may be pregnant.

Bodyscan is for EVERYONE looking to get in better shape or achieve weight loss or better performance. A lot of people think all our customers are athletes, but they are not! Far from it. In fact, most of our customers are overweight and looking to lose fat.

60% of our clients are men, 40% are women, and they range from 18-80 years old. Whatever your circumstances and reasons for wanting to know or track your body composition (fat loss or muscle gain) rest assured you will feel completely comfortable and our consultants will be supportive and non-judgmental.

Please take a look through some of our outstanding reviews from people just like you on our home page.

Bodyscan offers DEXA body composition scans, to accurately and precisely measure your body composition – your fat mass, lean mass and bone mass.

In other words, we tell you how much of you is body fat, how much is lean (essentially muscle) and bone.

We DO NOT provide DEXA bone density (or BMD) scans. The body scan will provide some information about your bone density but it is just an indication, not a definitive, diagnosable result. Please read this article for more information.

To prepare for the scan, please do not eat (or eat very light) for four hours beforehand and be normally hydrated with water, tea, etc. Don’t over- or under-drink.

Also, do not do any heavy exercise (eg, a gym workout or long run) for the same period.

Please remove as much jewellery as you can before you arrive at the clinic. After you have checked in, empty your bladder before being called.

It’s best if you are in the same state for every scan for the most reliable comparison.

If you have any implants of any material or a Pacemaker, again, don’t worry, the scan can go ahead as normal. Metal implants will show up as dense bone on your Bodyscan report but they will not affect the fat and lean data. There is no risk to the operation of your Pacemaker.

Metal implants/piercings will show up as dense bone on your Bodyscan report but they will not affect the fat and lean data. There is no risk to the structure of operation of your implant.

If you have any implants (like a hip or knee replacement) of any material or jewellery or piercings you cannot remove, or a Pacemaker or Cochlear ear implant, don’t worry, the scan can go ahead as normal.

The DEXA is a very-low-dose X-ray, and X-rays either pass through objects or they do not.

We do ask that you remove as much jewellery as possible, as we want to measure you, not what you’re wearing!

If you have any more questions or concerns regarding the DEXA Scan, please see our FAQs here.

If your doctor has advised a DEXA scan, then it is highly likely that they want you to have a bone density scan to detect osteopenia or osteoporosis.

Bodyscan does not perform bone density scans, only body composition scans.

However, if your doctor wants to know about your body fat and body composition (perhaps he is advising you to lose weight) then we are definitely the place for that! You don’t need a separate referral from your doctor (unless you have or are recovering from an eating disorder, such as bulimia or anorexia), just make your Baseline booking online.

All our consultants are currently male so unfortunately we can’t offer you a female at this time.

However, we do operate a chaperone policy so you can bring someone with you, or we can arrange for a female member of staff to be in the room.

Please note that if you bring your own chaperone, they can be with you during the whole appointment. If you request a member of clinic staff, they can only be in the scanning room during your welcome chat, while you get changed (behind a privacy curtain) and during the scan. They will not be able to stay for the post-scan consultation.

Please email us in advance of your requirement if you need us to provide a chaperone.

If you would like to bring a friend, relative or child with you, they can be with you during the introduction and the consultation but not during the scan itself, which is about four minutes.

(If you are bringing an adult friend with you, who is interested in body composition, please remember we provide Baseline scans for two people, so you might want to consider that!)

CHILDREN

You can bring a child (infant, toddler or older) with you to the appointment but please remember that the post-scan consultation during the first (Baseline) scan requires your and our consultant’s attention and focus for 45-50 minutes, so we respectfully ask for your child’s good behaviour please 🙂 We will not be able to give the consultation with the distraction of a crying baby/toddler.

Young children can stay in the room during the 4-minute scan by standing with the consultant behind the safety screen. Older children and others must wait outside in the waiting area while the scan takes place.

CHAPERONES

A chaperone, nurse or carer can be with you during the scan if required. They will have to sign a form to remain in the room during the scan. It would be helpful if you could drop us an email ([email protected]) and let us know in advance.

Our operators are male, so if you require a female chaperone to be provided please let us know and we will arrange for a female member of staff from our host clinics to join you. Again, please let us know in advance because it can be difficult to find a chaperone at very short notice. Thank you.

We recommend about 12-16 weeks (3-4 months) between scans. This is long enough for changes in body composition to have occurred and for you to know that you can stick to your plan; and short enough to keep you motivated and give you a short-term target.

If you’re on a more ambitious plan, especially for fat-loss, then we can scan you every eight weeks. We cannot scan less than eight weeks (56 days) after your previous appointment.

A DEXA body scan is non-intrusive and completely pain free, so there is no need to be anxious or nervous. There are no injections and nothing is attached to you. In fact, many Bodyscan clients say they find the experience calming and relaxing and sometimes fall asleep!

You will lie on a padded mattress and a scanning arm will pass over you three times. The DEXA machine is not like an MRI or CT ‘doughnut’ scanner in that you do not go ‘inside’ the machine. So don’t worry if you suffer from claustrophobia, you will not feel any sense of confinement at all. The scanning arm passes at least 30cm (12 inches) away from your body.

You will need to remain still during the scan but you should be relaxed and breathe normally. Relax and imagine you are lying on the beach! The scan itself takes less than four minutes and the Bodyscan operator will be in the room with you and can stop the scan immediately if you feel uncomfortable.

If you have any more questions or concerns ahead of your DEXA Scan appointment, please see our FAQs here or get in touch with our friendly team.

The actual scan takes less than four minutes but your first appointment with a consultation lasts up to an hour. It is to ensure you fully understand everything in the report, interpret your personal results and give you the opportunity to ask any questions you might have.

When you have a follow-up scan to check your progress, the scan is exactly the same but there is no detailed consultation. The appointment is just 20 minutes, which is enough time to briefly discuss what progress you have made since your previous scan. One of the pages of your Progress report will show precise changes in fat and lean mass between your latest scan and the previous scans (up to five previous scans).

The DEXA scan uses a tiny dose of ionising radiation (X-rays) to measure your body composition. To put the dose and the risk in perspective, it is equivalent to eating 50 grams of Brazil nuts, and less than one day’s normal background radiation that we each receive every day from outer space and the earth’s natural radiation.

To put it another way, you are effectively having a DEXA body scan every day without even knowing it. The dose is so low that the Care Quality Commission describes the risk from the radiation dose of a body scan as “negligible”. This chart shows dose comparisons (a DEXA bodyscan is the same as a dental X-ray, at 0.005mSv).

If you want more detail, please watch this video:

Men – Nearly all men have the scan in their underwear, though if you prefer you can ask for a hospital gown. You can get changed in privacy behind a curtain. (Our consultants are currently all male.)

Women – You should wear loose-fitting sports clothing, such as cotton shorts and a sports top or T-shirt. Or you can change into our hospital gown in a curtained changing area for privacy. Underneath the gown you can wear your bra (wired or sports) and underpants.

Do not wear anything too restrictive or tight-fitting, such as lycra or figure-hugging clothes.

To check precise availability you should start to make a booking (Pricing/Book > Book a Scan) and you’ll be presented with a calendar of available dates and times. You can back out of the booking at any time before payment. Each location will have different availability.

Our opening times are generally:

W1 – Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday

City – Monday to Friday and some Saturdays

Whether you are paying for a scan or using a prepaid credit, the process is the same.

On the website, go to Pricing/Book > Book a Scan, select the scan you need (Baseline for your first scan, Progress for a follow-up) and click ‘Book’.

Once you’ve selected the location, date and time, you’ll be asked to sign in. When signed in, the booking system will use any available credits in lieu of payment.

If you believe you have credits but you are asked to make payment, this is probably because:

i) Your credits have expired (they are valid one year from date of purchase). Sign in here and select ‘Your prepaid credits’.
ii) You are trying to book a Baseline scan but your credit is for a Progress scan (or vice versa).
iii) The credits may not have been allocated when you bought them (our bad!) If this is the case, please email us and we’ll put things right as soon as possible.

If you are experiencing technical problems with booking online (such as getting into a loop), the issue is almost certainly due to security settings with your browser or your anti-virus software.

The first thing you should do is try another browser – it usually works!

If you still have technical problems, please email [email protected] and someone will get back to you soon.

If you are a new customer it would help greatly if you are able to register your details here before calling.

We accept MasterCard, Visa and American Express for bookings and prepaid packages, which must be made online. Full payment is required at the time of booking. We operate a 24-hour cancellation policy.

We do not take cash or cheque.

Click here to go to the booking page.

We offer the VF4 (one Baseline plus three Progress scans) and V5 (five Progress scans) packages by direct debit. Click the links to set these up.

You do not need your own doctor’s referral to book a body scan with us (unless you suffer from or are recovering from an eating disorder) but please note we only perform BODY COMPOSITION scans, not BONE DENSITY scans.

If you want a bone density scan to check for osteopenia or osteoporosis then we advise you to Google ‘bone density DEXA scan near me’.

If you want a body composition scan, you can book that now online from our website under ‘Pricing/Book > Book a Scan’ or click here.

If you have been given a gift voucher code for a scan, it will consist of five letters/numbers, such as PHJ7Y. (Please note this is different to a promo code, which provides a discount when booking a scan.)

If you have a gift voucher code, click here navigate to ‘Pricing/Book > Redeem Gift Voucher’ and enter the 5-character voucher code. It’s then easy from there. Make sure you confirm the booking and get a confirmation email (check your junk folder).

(If you have a promo code rather than a gift voucher, you should enter this at checkout before you make payment.)

We recommend everyone’s first scan is the Baseline scan because the face-to-face consultation will bring your report alive for you. You may have had a DEXA body scan before but, believe us, you will not have received anything like the depth and breadth of explanation or what it means for you personally.

Look what these two Baseline customers said:

“Amazing appointment, I have come away with a wealth of information, some great advice and most importantly a plan.”

“My husband and I expected a completely different experience. We thought we would go in and do the scan and be out in 15 minutes with one number. What we got is so much more.”

However, if you don’t want any explanation or personalisation you can purchase the Progress scan. Just go to Pricing/Book > Book a Scan and choose the Progress scan or click here.

If you and a friend/relative have a Baseline scan for two people, that is a single appointment for both of you, which one of you will book.

If, at the end of the appointment, you buy prepaid credits for future Progress (follow-up) scans, you need to know that Progress scans are for one person only, so you each need to book your own appointments using your own, separate accounts.

Because Progress scans are for one person only, you do not have to attend at the same time or even on the same day. Even if you do want to visit Bodyscan together, you will each need to book adjacent – but separate – appointments. (Adjacent Progress scans will start 20 minutes apart, eg 10.20am and 10.40am.)

For example, if at the 2-person appointment you buy one Progress scan for each of you, one credit will be placed in each of your own Bodyscan accounts – one credit in your account and one credit in your scan partner’s.

The person who booked the original 2-person scan will have set up an account when making the booking. The second person will not have. We will create that account to receive the prepaid credit and assign it a password of the second person’s name in lower case, eg: michaelchapman.

It is important that, apart from the 2-person Baseline, you DO NOT make a booking for someone else using your own account. Apart from the 2-person Baseline, each scan must be booked by the person who is to have the scan.

No! The person booking the scan must be the person who will have the scan. Please never book a scan for another person on your own account.

The only exception to this is when you book a 2-Person Baseline scan, for which you will make the booking and include the details of your scan partner as the second participant.

If someone you know wants to have a body scan, they must book the scan themselves with all their own details (name, address, date of birth, reason for having the scan, etc).

If you wish to give a scan as a gift, then please buy a specific gift voucher for them. This is easier for everyone as it means they can pick the most convenient date, time and location, and the price of the scan will be hidden when they make their booking.

When you book a scan for two people it’s important that you do the following:

1. Make sure you select ‘2’ participants when you select the date and time

2. Enter all the correct details both for you (the person booking the scan) and your scan partner. Please don’t guess your scan buddy’s details!

3. DO NOT use the same email address OR the same mobile number for both of you. It’s important you each use unique email/phone details (if you don’t it can really stuff up the booking!) Of course, if you live together your residential addresses will be the same.

It’s a legal condition that the Bodyscan consultant confirms your name address and date of birth before providing the scan. If the details you provide verbally do not match the details on the booking, the scan cannot go ahead. So please get your booking right. If you have any questions, please write to us at [email protected].

All our bookings (and changes and cancellations) are taken online via the website.

Please go to ‘Pricing/Book’ and then ‘Book a Scan’ or click here.

Whether you are paying for a scan or using a prepaid credit, once you have signed in click ‘New booking’ and take it from there.

Please make sure you click ‘Confirm booking’ and check your junk folder for the confirmation email. You can always check, change or cancel your booking by signing in from the website (‘My Account’) or clicking here and selecting ‘Your bookings’.

Yes, we offer the Baseline scan and all VF packages (that is, packages that include the Baseline scan) for two people.

You can see all our prices here.

The 2-person Baseline is exactly the same as the Baseline scan for one person but has a joint consultation (so be prepared for your buddy to see your results!) and is a bit cheaper than buying two individual scans.

To book a pre-paid package for two or more people, send us an email.

If you have persistent problems making a booking it is almost certainly due to the security or anti-virus software/settings on your computer. Please try another browser and it will usually work.

If you continue to have problems you can phone us on 020 3490 4171 but it will make things much easier and quicker if you can register your details here before calling.

Bodyscan discount and promotion codes are only valid against selected single scans (Baseline and Progress scans), NOT pre-paid packages. The terms and validity of any code will vary depending on the promotion. If your code doesn’t work it’s because the offer has expired or doesn’t apply to your selected scan.

If you have any more questions or concerns ahead of your DEXA Scan appointment, please see our FAQs here or get in touch with our friendly team.

Our 24-hour cancellation policy means that if you cancel within 24 hours of your appointment you will forfeit your full payment or the pre-paid credit you have used. We will only waive this policy at our absolute discretion

NOTE: All cancellations and changes must be made a minimum of 24 hours before the start time of your appointment. Once inside the 24-hour window, your appointment will be ‘locked out’.

If it is within 24 hours of your booking please read the section Changes/cancellations within 24 hours of your appointment below.

All bookings, changes and cancellations should be made online by signing in to your account then selecting ‘Your bookings’.

Click on the booking and then click ‘Change’ next to the aspect of the booking you wish to change or click ‘Cancel my booking’ at the bottom of the page.

You must confirm any changes and re-accept the terms and conditions.

We operate a 24-hour change and cancellation policy, so online changes are not possible if your appointment is less than 24 hours away.

Changes/cancellations within 24 hours of your appointment

If you are inside the 24-hour window please email [email protected] as soon as you know you will not be able to make it.

At our absolute discretion, if we waive the 24-hour policy we may offer you the chance to rebook within 4-weeks of the cancelled appointment for a fee of £15 for a Progress scan or £30 for a Baseline scan.

Please understand that a cancellation means we lose a paid slot that we can no longer sell, and rebooking your appointment means we have to take out another slot.

We are only open on some Saturdays at the City (Cornhill) location. We are not open on Sundays.

Bodyscan City (on Cornhill near Bank tube station) is usually open on alternate Saturdays.

Bodyscan W1 (Marylebone) is not open at weekends.

When you start to make a booking, once you have picked your preferred location you will be presented with a calendar of available dates and times.

All our bookings are taken online for time slots more than 24 hours away. Payment is taken at the time of booking.

We cannot guarantee requests for bookings in a shorter timeframe but if you would like a booking for today or within 24 hours, please make sure you are an existing customer (ie, you have been to us before) or that you register your details here or via ‘My Account > Sign up’ on the website.

Then please call 020 3490 4171 (business hours Monday to Friday only) and ask for availability and we MAY be able to take the booking but we can’t guarantee it, we can only guarantee bookings made online. You can also send an email with your same-day request to [email protected] but please note emails are not monitored at all times. We may only see your email later in the day.

Same-day booking requests are best made by phone during business hours and if you are not already registered we will not be able to help you.

If your desired time is more than 24 hours away then please book online in the normal way via ‘Pricing/Book > Book a Scan’ or click here and choose ‘New Booking’.

To book using one of your pre-paid package credits, you need to sign in and select ‘New booking’.

The price of the booking will be shown but a credit will be used in lieu of payment.

All our prices are on our pricing page.

A Baseline Scan with post-scan consultation is £199 and a Progress scan is £159.

Prepaid credits are valid for one year from the date of purchase. Please note that the expiry date of any prepaid credit is the date by which you need to have had the scan; it is not the date by which you need to have made the booking.

From 1st January 2025, any unused credits will be forfeited on the day of expiry and will not be extended.

To book using one of your pre-paid package credits, you need to sign in here or via ‘My Account > Sign in’ and select ‘New booking’. The price of the scan will be shown but a credit will be used in lieu of payment.

If you are asked to pay, it means that your credit is not valid for the date you are trying to book. You can check your prepaid expiry date by clicking ‘Your prepaid credits’ after you have signed in.

2-PERSON BASELINES – PLEASE NOTE: If you first attended a 2-person Baseline scan with another person and then bought prepaid credits for future Progress (follow-up) scans, those credits will be placed in your own, individual accounts. Progress scans are for one person only and need to be booked separately by each of you. If you wish to attend your Progress scans together, you will need to pick adjacent time slots on the same day. Adjacent slots for Progress scans are 20 minutes apart, eg: 11.40am and 12.00pm.

Apart from the 2-person Baseline, please never book a scan for another person. The person booking the scan must be the same person who is due to have the scan. Thank you.

If you have a booking made with a package credit and changing the date results in a request for payment, the most likely reason is that your package expires before the new date you want to move to. Packages and credits are valid for a year, and the expiry date is the last date by which your scan needs to take place.

You can check the expiry date of your package by signing in and selecting ‘Your Prepaid Credits’.

If you need to extend your credit, please send an email to [email protected].

Until 31st December 2024, you can only cancel a package if it has not expired and if there are unused scans in the package.

From 1st January 2025, prepaid credits cannot be cancelled more than 30 days after purchase.

Until 31st January 2024, if you bought prepaid credits, any refund will be based on the full list price of completed scans, not on the pro rata price of multiple credits.

To cancel any prepaid credits write to [email protected].

Yes, if there are unused scans in your package you can extend your package for a cost of £30 per ten weeks beyond the date of expiry. To do this please send us an email.

Please note the following message we send when you purchase a prepaid package of scans.

“We want you to get maximum value from your package and be a very happy customer, which means getting everything you paid for and using all your credits as intended.

So forgive us this once if we sound a little direct but it’s easier and more helpful to say it upfront now rather than down the track when you have unused, paid-for credits on the brink of being snatched away: Ultimately, it is for you to build your lifestyle and schedule around our package, not the other way round!

We say this because unexpired credits have historically been the biggest cause of customer dissatisfaction, and the reasons for not using them have included indulgent holidays, new kitchens, shoddy builders, bad relationships, working remotely, increased travel, and getting bored with a diet or exercise programme!

So please understand that unused credits will incur our extension fee of £30 per ten weeks beyond the expiry date. We’ll try to send reminders six months, three months and one month before expiry, but it’s not guaranteed. Book the first appointment now!

You can always check your remaining credits and their expiry date by signing in to your account from the website (‘My Account’ > ‘Sign In)’ or here and selecting ‘Your prepaid credits’.”

Yes, we offer all VF packages for two people. The prices are shown within each package pricing table on our pricing page.

Just sign in to your and select ‘Your prepaid credits’. You’ll see everything you need to know about your credits there.

From 1st January 2025 you will not be able to extend credits beyond their expiry date, or cancel a credit 30 days after purchase.

We aim to send reminder emails at six months, three months and one month before expiry, but this cannot be guaranteed.

It is therefore your responsibility to use all prepaid scan credits before their expiry date.

Ultimately, it is for you to work your regime around our packages, not the other way round! So if you’ve “not had a chance to train” or “didn’t stick to my diet like I hoped” we’re not going to make an exception. Harsh but fair!

You cannot buy scans and then split them with other people as the credits assigned for scans go into your account, from where they are used in lieu of further payment. Splitting a package between people amounts to a heavier discount for a smaller package!

If you are looking to transfer your scans because they are about to expire and you have forgotten to use them, an alternative is to extend your credits for £30 per ten weeks, giving you time to use them.

If transferring to someone else if the only option other than forfeiting them, we will only transfer unused Progress scans to someone who has already had a Bodyscan Baseline scan, and that will incur a transfer fee of £30 per credit and the expiry date will remain the same.

If you wish to transfer unused scans to someone who has never been a Bodyscan customer, we will insist they receive a Baseline scan at the following rates of coversion:

Two of your unused Progress credits will convert to one new Baseline scan for your friend (with the orginal unused credits’ expiry date)

One unused Progress credit plus a payment of £50 converts to one new Baseline scan (with the original unused credit’s expiry date)

To transfer or extend credits, please drop an email to [email protected] with your request. Thank you.

1. Packaged or prepaid scans are not transferable to other people without paying a transfer fee; the person in whose name all scans are booked must be the same person who has each scan. If scans are transferred at Bodyscan’s discretion, the person receiving the scans must have had a Baseline scan previously. If that is the case, each transferred Progress scan will incur a transfer fee of £30 and the original expiry date of the transferred scans will still apply. If the person receiving the scans has never had a Bodyscan Baseline scan, then the transferred scans will convert at a rate of:

a) two Progress scans for one Baseline scan, or

b) one Progress scan plus £50 for one Baseline scan.

2. All scans, whether purchased individually or in packages, cannot be taken more frequently than once every eight weeks (56 days).

3. All packages have a validity period of 12 months from date of purchase (not from the date of your first booked scan).

4. The expiry date of each package is the last available date you can have a scan (it is not the last available date you can make a booking).

5. It is your responsibility to know when your credits expire and how many scan credits you have left. You can manage all aspects of your Bodyscan account by signing in to your account from the home page or here. Bodyscan is implementing a reminder system to send reminders six months, three months and one month before credit expiry, but it is still your responsibility to ensure credits are used while valid.

6. CREDIT EXTENSIONS: From 1st January 2025 prepaid credits will not be extended beyond their expiry date.

7. Promotional codes cannot be applied to packages as they are already discounted.

8. CANCELLATIONS: From 1st January 2025, a prepaid credit cannot be cancelled more than 30 days after its purchase date.

August 2022:

We are no longer making long or blanket extensions due to Covid. Due to the vaccine roll-out, the lifting of travel restrictions and our being open continuously since 1st February 2021 we are not extending any credits without levying the extension fee.

If you contract Covid and your credit expires close to the time of your infection we will extend your credit for 2-4 weeks maximum before expecting you to rebook.

The standard procedure is that we can extend your package for a cost of £30 per ten weeks beyond the date of expiry.

You can check your prepaid credits by signing in here and clicking ‘Your prepaid credits’.

If your credits are not there, please read the following first:

You can buy prepaid credits in three ways:

1. If you have bought a prepaid package by direct debit (VF4 or V5 only), it will take up to 24 hours for your account to be assigned the credits. The team will be notified that your DD has been set up and then will manually place the credits in your account (this usually happens in the early afternoon or around close of business).

2. If you bought credits at your appointment, they should be allocated by the end of the same day.

If you bought credits by either of the two methods above and your credits are not in your account more than 24 hours later please email [email protected] and we’ll sort it quickly.

3. If you bought a package upfront online, the credits will automatically be placed in your account.

The visceral fat result on your DEXA scan is a measurement of internal fat in a specific area of the abdomen. This result is closely correlated with measurements by CT scan.

You will not ‘see’ visceral fat on the DEXA image and therefore we cannot tell you how much is around particular organs, but that is not really important – visceral fat should be reduced wherever it lies. If you want to see visceral fat then you will need a CT scan, which is many times more expensive and hundreds of times the dose of radiation. A DEXA scan is the next best thing.

This video explains more about visceral fat, how we measure it and how to reduce it.

Visceral fat is termed ‘bad’ fat because it surrounds the internal organs (such as your heart, lungs and liver) and is associated with obesity-related diseases such as type-2 diabetes, heart disease, colon cancer and stroke. Even dementia.

The 4-minute scan you get is exactly the same for both the Baseline and Progress appointments. You receive a paper and PDF copy of your report for every scan you have. The differences are:

1. Immediately after the Baseline scan, there is a detailed post-scan consultation that explains everything in the report. We also suggest fat-loss and muscle-gain targets and advise on a total calorie target and timeline to reach your goal. The Baseline scan is a 60-minute appointment (80 minutes for two people).

2. The Progress scan report has an extra page showing the changes in fat and lean mass since the previous scan (and up to four more scans before that). Because the changes are shown on the report there is no post-scan consultation and the Progress appointment is just 20 minutes.

Other than the Progress page showing fat and lean changes, the report for every scan is the same and shows results for all the data points every time.

In the Baseline post-scan consultation, we will go through your report and then calculate your resting metabolic rate (RMR) and your maintenance calories – this is the number of calories you can eat so your weight stays the same.

We will then suggest a fat-loss target (if appropriate) and calculate how many calories you should eat (a calorie deficit based on your maintenance calories) and for what period in order to achieve that goal, and email you the results.

You can use our RMR and body composition calculator yourself, whether you have had a DEXA scan or not. The result from using your DEXA scan data is more reliable because it uses your lean body mass as its main input, and lean mass is the biggest burner of calories. If you have low lean mass (low muscle) then the non-DEXA result for your RMR and maintenance calories is likely to be a few hundred calories too high.

This video will tell you a lot more about calculating your calories with DEXA scan data:

Each customer receives a paper copy and an emailed PDF version of their DEXA body scan report.

The paper report is produced immediately after the scan and the consultant will go through it with you and you’ll take it home.

The emailed PDF version is sent by the end of the same day.

The scan and the post-scan consultation will show how your fat is distributed around your body, in your arms, legs and trunk (torso).

Both men and women can have the fat characteristics of either sex, where the fat is held mainly in your upper body (male distribution, apple-shaped) or limbs/lower body (female distribution, pear-shaped).

We can’t do anything about our fat distribution (sadly!) but it’s good to know. Fat in the upper body can lead to high levels of internal visceral fat, which is associated with obesity-related diseases like type-2 diabetes.

Watch this video to understand more.

In the Baseline consultation we’ll tell you how your muscle is distributed around your body.

The report shows you your left-right imbalances but Bodyscan’s huge DEXA dataset means we can also plot your muscle distribution across arms, legs and trunk (torso). This top-to-bottom distribution is not in the report itself, it can only be revealed thanks to our extensive database of 17,000 scans.

If your muscle distribution is uneven, you can even things out by focusing resistance training on particular muscle groups. But an uneven distribution may be expected due to your favourite activity – eg, we’d expect a keen cyclist to have more muscle in their legs than elsewhere!

No, a DEXA scan is not a good tool to detect osteoarthritis.

Bodyscan performs only body scans, not bone density scans.

DEXA bone scans (which Bodyscan does not provide) are designed to detect low bone density (osteopenia and osteoporosis), whereas osteoarthritis is about the joints between the bones. They are often confused as they can often occur together.

If you are worried about osteoarthritis you should seek a specialist.

For more information about body scans and bone scans, read this article and watch this video.

The Bodyscan DEXA report gives you a great deal of information, much more than just your body fat percentage, which isn’t a great measure of body fat anyway. Watch this video to understand why.

In terms of body composition, the report shows the following for each arm, each leg and trunk (and head) and total:

• Fat mass
• Lean mass
• Bone mass (bone mineral content)
• Total mass (fat + lean + bone)

The scan also gives you these indices for your whole body:

• Body fat percentage (BF%, fat mass divided by total body mass)
• Fat Mass Index (fat mass divided by height-squared)
• Android/gynoid ratio (BF% in the android (belly region, male fat area) divided by BF% in the gynoid (hip-thigh-buttock region, female fat area)
• Fat Mass Ratio (% Fat Trunk divided by % Fat Legs)
• Trunk-to-Limb Fat Mass Ratio (fat mass of the trunk divided by fat mass total of the legs)
• Visceral Fat (this is an estimate of internal fat in a section of the android region).
• Lean Mass Index (total soft-tissue lean mass divided by height-squared)
• Appendicular Lean Mass Index (soft-tissue lean mass on the limbs divided by height-squared)

The scan will also provide an indication of your bone density (BMD), with these data points for each arm, each leg, left-side ribs, right-side ribs, thoracic spine, lumbar spine, pelvis and head. Note you should not track bone density with whole-body scans. The bone density results are just an indication. Watch this video for more information about DEXA body scans and bone density.

At your Baseline scan we will plot the most important numbers from your report against our own percentile tables to put the numbers into perspective and give them meaning. These tables represent the biggest DEXA body scan dataset in the UK – more than 17,000 body scans over seven years.

No, a DEXA body scan will not show body water or water retention as a separate component.

DEXA measures bone mass (bone mineral content), fat mass and “lean mass”. Lean mass is everything that is not body fat or bone and therefore includes, muscle, organs, skin, connective tissue etc … and water.

Big changes in body water (caused, for example, by your menstrual cycle, steroid use, creatine, carb loading or depletion) will affect your lean mass result, but we cannot say what is ‘retained’ or ‘excess’ fluid/body water.

Typically, over the long term, body water is stable, so we can read changes in lean mass as a change in skeletal muscle mass. We advise that, where possible, you come to Bodyscan in the same physiological state for every scan.

We have two clinics, and both in central London. Sadly, we do not have any locations outside London at this time.

Bodyscan City is just a few steps from Bank tube and Bodyscan W1 is less than ten minutes’ walk from both Baker Street and Regent’s Park tubes. The full addresses are on our Contact Us page.

If you’re coming from outside London, the City location is easy to get to by tube from Euston, King’s Cross, Waterloo and Liverpool Street (walking distance).

W1 is easy by tube from Paddington, Marylebone and Euston Square.

Because our clinics are in central London, we advise everyone not to drive because of limited parking and heavy traffic. Almost everyone who drives is late!

We are within a few minutes’ walk of Bank and Monument tubes for City, and Regent’s Park and Baker Street tubes for W1. Our locations are on our Contact page.

If you must drive, please Google ‘parking in Westminster’ (for W1) and ‘City of London parking’ (for City). Unfortunately, new restrictions and road changes have made driving in London even more difficult, so public transport is really the best option if you can.

Bodyscan has two clinics – W1 in Marylebone, and City near the Bank of England.

Whilst the scanning room in the City is the bigger of the two, if you are concerned about disabled access, we strongly recommend you to book Bodyscan W1 in Marylebone.

W1 has very good wheelchair access with step-free access from the road outside to the scanning room. The City location does not have good wheelchair access from outside because of seven steps to the door of the building and a few more inside.

If you need access without any steps of obstructions, please book at Bodyscan W1.

At Bodyscan we do our very best to ensure we run to time. Please note that we run appointments back-to-back, so a late start with one appointment can have a knock-on effect.

For this reason, please ensure you arrive TEN MINUTES before your appointment start time. The time of your appointment is the time you should be ready to walk into the scanning room, after checking in, signing a consent form, emptying your bladder and removing excess jewellery.

If you are late to the point that we cannot start the following appointment on time (5 minutes late for as Progress scan or 10 minutes late for a Baseline scan) we may require that you wait until a suitable gap in the schedule becomes available. That may mean, on a busy day, that we cannot scan you for hours later or even at all.

We will appreciate a phone message to tell us if you are running late but it does not mean that we will be able to see you as scheduled. We will always give priority to customers who arrive on time. Thank you for your understanding.

No. We know of no UK health insurer that covers DEXA body composition scans.

Yes!

If you’d like to buy a gift voucher for someone, please click here and then ‘Gift vouchers’, or navigate to ‘Pricing/Book > Buy a Gift Voucher’.

Choose the ‘Specific’ gift voucher and then the scan type (we strongly recommend the Baseline Scan for one person). You’ll then enter your own details and make payment.

Once payment has been made you will be emailed the gift voucher number, which you can give to the recipient.

Please note we only sell gift vouchers for a monetary value and for single scans, not for packages of multiple scans.

No, there is no such thing as a 3D DEXA scan.

Like most X-ray modalities, a DEXA body (and bone) scan produces a two-dimensional image and the X-rays scan you in one plane.

A CT scan (and an MRI, which uses radio waves, not X-rays) uses the familiar, big round ‘doughnut’ which circles around your body to fire X-rays from every angle. They might be said to be ‘3D scans’ and can produce images of cross-sections of parts of your body.

We’re always very happy to speak to you by phone, as well as by email.

Calls to the Bodyscan number (020 3490 4171) are answered by a UK-based call-handling service and they can handle most queries.

If they can’t give you the help yoiu need, or you tell them you’d like to speak to someone from Bodyscan, they will get Jamie O’Conor (our customer service man, who is employed directly by Bodyscan) to give you a call.

If you want to speak to the boss, Bodyscan’s director is Philip Chant, and he is always happy to talk to you at length, answer your questions and address any concerns.

The fastest way to speak to Philip or Jamie is to email [email protected]. These emails are opened by Jamie and he will alert Philip if required.

To log in to your account, simply go via ‘My Account > Sign in’ or click here.

We get a lot of requests to film scans.

If you are filming for yourself then we ask that you book the City clinic and bring a small tripod as we can only have one person in the scanning room during the scan.

You must book the Baseline scan and please email [email protected] to let us know. If it is very busy we may suggest you move to another date as we will not run late.

If you are filming for a bigger project (eg, broadcast media or high-subscriber YouTube) and need to bring a videographer or film crew, you will need to let us know in advance. Filming can be done in the City clinic only.

If you’d like to call us, the number is 020 3490 4171, but please be aware that our phones are answered by a third-party call-handling service.

Therefore, if you would like any detailed information about our service, or your enquiry needs to be addressed by a member of the Bodyscan team, please email us at [email protected] with your phone number and tell us what you’d like to speak about and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can.

Bodyscan uses a Hologic Discovery ‘A’ DEXA scanner at both locations. The scan time is less than four minutes, meaning we can spend maximum time discussing your results.

(The other main manufacturer of DEXA scanners is GE but we much prefer the Hologic technology – the report gives more information and a better image.)

It is not reliable to compare results between different manufacturers due to differences in their proprietary scanning algorithms, so if you have had a scan on a different model you should treat your first scan with Bodyscan as a new Baseline and book all your future scans at the same location.

If you have a business enquiry about marketing or a partnership, please write to us at [email protected].

Our body recomposition coach is Rob Webster.

He’s a very experienced coach with a proven track record. If you are someone who has a good work ethic but struggles with knowing what to do, then this service could be for you.

Please note however that Rob is very selective about who he takes on as clients; he will want to be sure that you are prepared to put in the hard yards and stick to the intensive programme.

If you would like to get in touch with Rob, please send an email to [email protected].

Yes, separately to scans, we offer nutrition plans through PRISM Nutrition (run by our resident nutritionist and Bodyscan consultant Kevin Garde).

You can visit Kevin’s page here.

Pricing for our nutrition and food plans is towards the bottom of that page.

It’s £539 for the 12-week programme and £799 for the 16-week Premium programme. These programmes provide regular support and check-ins to keep you on track and accountable. If you’d like to be sure either of these programmes are for you, go here: https://prismnutrition.as.me/phonechat

If you’d just like a food plan without the ongoing support, that is £249 and there’s a link on the PRISM Nutrition page.