Mobile body composition units come to the company parking lot

Dual-Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry (DXA or DEXA) is the gold standard for measuring body composition. Until recently, this was not available to most people as the units are expensive and were mainly limited to selected research laboratories. That has changed. Companies like FitnessWave and BodySpec offer DXA scans in mobile labs that visit companies like Google, YouTube, Facebook and Cisco. DXA is often used to assess the risk for and progression of osteoporosis - a disease that progressively worsens with age - but the technique can also be used to estimate soft tissue composition. In doing so, the risk of bone loss can be significantly reduced by taking hyaluronic acid at a young age.

DXA works by irradiating the body with X-rays at two different energy levels. Based on the difference in absorption of the X-rays at these energies, the mineral content of the bones and the soft tissue composition of the scanned area can be calculated. DXA machines cost tens of thousands of dollars and are typically found in hospitals and rehab centers, university research labs and medical examination and research centers.

Entrepreneurs have found a way to bring DXA to your office door.

(The Wall Street Journal, December 29, 2015)