Precise Numbers, Read by a Physician
DEXA Scan and Body Composition in Los Gatos
If you want to understand your body composition, a bathroom scale is not enough. Weight alone hides what actually matters for long-term health: how much muscle you carry, how much fat you carry, where that fat sits, and how strong your bones are. A DEXA scan measures all of it with precision. At Lifetime Performance Medicine in Los Gatos, we offer DEXA and, just as important, we have a physician-led team read it and connect it to your broader health picture.
What a DEXA Scan Measures
DEXA stands for Dual-Energy X-ray Absorptiometry. It uses two very low-dose X-ray beams to accurately distinguish between bone, lean muscle, and body fat. Unlike a standard scale that only shows your total weight, a DEXA scan reveals how your body is actually composed.
The scan provides detailed insights into your body fat percentage, lean muscle mass, bone mineral density, and visceral fat stored around your organs. It also measures how these tissues are distributed throughout different regions of your body, helping identify muscle imbalances or areas where excess fat is concentrated.
The Essential Insights From Your DEXA Scan
Gain a complete picture of your body composition with precise measurements of lean muscle, fat distribution, visceral fat, and bone density. These key health markers provide valuable insights into your strength, metabolic health, and long-term wellness, helping you track progress and make informed decisions for healthier aging.
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Lean Mass
DEXA measures your lean mass, which is largely muscle. Muscle is one of the most important tissues for healthy aging. It supports strength, metabolism, and independence over the decades, and DEXA gives you an accurate baseline and a way to track it.
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Fat Mass
The scan reports total fat mass and how it is distributed across your body. This is far more informative than a single body fat percentage from a handheld device, and it is much harder to fool.
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Visceral Fat
DEXA estimates visceral fat, the fat stored around your internal organs. Visceral fat is closely tied to metabolic and cardiovascular risk, and it is not something you can judge by appearance. Being able to see it as a number is one of the most valuable parts of a DEXA scan.
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Bone Density
DEXA is the clinical standard for measuring bone density. Bone strength matters a great deal for long-term health, and a scan gives you a clear reading and a baseline to watch over time.
Why Body Composition Matters for Longevity
Body composition is one of the most actionable areas in longevity medicine. Muscle, fat distribution, and bone density all influence how well you age, how your metabolism behaves, and your risk of serious problems down the road. Because these things respond to training, nutrition, and clinical care, measuring them accurately gives you real levers to work with.
The reason we favor DEXA is precision. When you make changes, you want to know whether you are gaining muscle, losing fat, or both, and by how much. A precise measure lets you tell whether a plan is working, and it removes the guesswork that comes from weight alone.
A Scan Alone Is Not Enough: Physician Interpretation
Plenty of places will sell you a DEXA scan and hand you a printout. The scan is genuinely useful, but a printout without interpretation leaves the most important question unanswered: what does this mean for me, and what should I do next?
At our clinic, your DEXA results are read by a physician-led team. You will see Dr. Richard Nguyen, DO, at least twice a year, and your ongoing care is guided by Morgan Carmean, ARNP. Dr. Nguyen is a board-certified general and bariatric surgeon with a Vanderbilt fellowship and more than 20 years of experience. Bariatric and metabolic surgery is, at its core, deep expertise in body composition and metabolism, so DEXA data lands in very experienced hands.
Interpretation means putting your numbers in context. Your lean mass, visceral fat, and bone density mean more when they are read alongside your metabolic markers, your cardiovascular fitness, and the rest of your health. That is exactly what we do.
Your Physician-Built 12-Month Plan
Available A La Carte or Inside Membership
You can request a standalone DEXA scan a la carte. This is a straightforward option if you want an accurate body composition and bone density reading interpreted by a clinician, without committing to membership. It is a high-quality single data point, read properly.
You can also access DEXA through the Optimization and Executive membership tiers, where it sits inside your Lifetime Body Score and is tracked over time. Foundations membership starts at $4,500 per year and includes body composition analysis, with full DEXA scanning at the Optimization and Executive tiers. Membership is where DEXA is most powerful, because repeat scans over the year show real change and keep your plan on target.
What to Expect During Your DEXA Scan
A DEXA scan is quick, painless, and low effort. You lie still on a padded table in light clothing without metal while a scanning arm passes over you. The scan itself takes only a few minutes and uses a very low dose of X-ray energy, far less than a standard medical X-ray. There is no needle, no enclosed tube, and nothing to recover from afterward. When your results are ready, a clinician walks you through your lean mass, fat mass, visceral fat, and bone density, and explains what each number means for your health and your plan, rather than handing you a printout to interpret alone.
Answers To Your Most Asked Questions
We believe in transparency. Here are answers to the most common questions about our approach and programs.
Lean mass, fat mass, visceral fat, and bone density. It is far more informative than weight or a handheld body fat reading.
DEXA uses a very low dose of X-ray energy. It is a widely used clinical tool and the standard for measuring bone density and body composition.
Yes. DEXA is available a la carte as a single test, interpreted by our team. It is also included in the Optimization and Executive membership tiers, where it is tracked over time inside the Lifetime Body Score.
Yes. Our Los Gatos clinic serves San Jose, Saratoga, Campbell, Santa Clara County, and the wider South Bay.