DEXA vs InBody in Austin: Which Body Scan Answers Your Question

DEXA and InBody both estimate how much of you is fat and how much is lean mass, and they answer different questions. DEXA is a low-dose X-ray scan and the reference method. Get one when you want the closest single reading, bone density or visceral fat. InBody estimates the same things from a small electrical current. It's quick, repeatable, and good for checking whether your training is moving the numbers. Kinetic Blueprint runs an InBody 580. We don't do DEXA.

What each scan measures

DEXA reads bone, fat and lean tissue region by region from a low-dose X-ray. That's why it's the method researchers test other devices against.

The InBody 580 sends a small electrical current through your body and estimates muscle, fat and body water from how it travels. It reports skeletal muscle mass, body fat percentage, body water and segmental balance, which is how muscle and fat sit across your arms, trunk and legs.

How closely do they agree?

Close for one person, but not identical, and the difference runs one way. In a study of three InBody models against DEXA, every InBody read body fat lower and lean mass higher than DEXA, with a small error for each individual.

That study tested the 230, 720 and 770, not the 580 we run. So read it as the likely direction for our device, not a known number.

The practical rule follows from it. Never compare an InBody number with a DEXA number. Compare InBody with InBody, and DEXA with DEXA. A gap between the two is mostly the method, not you.

Which one tracks training better?

It depends on the question. In a seven-week study of college football players, both tracked whole-body lean mass gains in a similar way. But DEXA caught the muscle gained in the arms and legs, and the InBody didn't.

If you want to know whether a training block added muscle overall, either one works. If you need to know whether your legs specifically gained, DEXA sees it and an InBody may miss it.

What throws each one off

Food and fluid can move bioimpedance readings a lot. The study behind that used bioimpedance spectroscopy, a related method rather than the InBody itself, so read it as the direction, not a number for our device. DEXA holds up better, as long as you've had less than about 500 g of food and drink.

So a scan is only as good as its conditions. Same time of day, rested, before a big meal. That's why we run the InBody on the same device under the same conditions every time, so the trend is honest. More on that on the body composition testing page, and for cardio fitness see VO2 max testing.

Where to get each one in Austin

InBody: at Kinetic Blueprint, 507 Pressler Street, Suite 100, in Old West Austin. A standalone InBody scan is $45, and it's part of the Foundational Assessment ($279) and the Kinetic Blueprint Assessment ($499), next to the movement assessment, so the number comes with a plan. Every tier is on the Assessments and Fitness Analytics page.

DEXA: scan companies such as BodySpec list Austin among the cities they serve. A clinical DEXA for bone density is ordered by your doctor.

If you want both

Get one DEXA for the reference reading, then re-test on the InBody alongside your training. Two good instruments, each used for what it does best.