text_1: Too Much Fat? Try a Whole-Body Scan Procedure gives far more data than a body-mass index
text_2: A DXA body composition scan featured in the Wall Street Journal. The format of this story — with its hepful “Ache, Claim, Verdict” structure — suggests we are going to be treated to a no-nonsense examination of the evidence supporting dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, or DXA, for whole body scans to determine an individual’s body composition in terms of fat, bone and muscle. However, the story doesn’t deliver much more than a superficial look at the technology and is lacking in critical perspective. The story concludes that DXA is much more accurate than body mass index (BMI) at calculating someone’s body composition, but doesn’t give readers much information on why this may be important to their health. It focuses on the question of how often one should get scanned, and never challenges the assumption that one needs to get scanned at all. It doesn’t mention that there appears to be no data to show that those who use these scans have any better outcomes than those who do not. We live in a body-conscious society. It’s not clear precisely how much money people in the United States spend on weight loss. U.S. News, for example, reported in 2013 that we spend more than $60 billion a year on weight loss. A year earlier, ABC News pegged it at $20 billion. Regardless of which figure is closer to the mark, the weight loss industry is a juggernaut. And that doesn’t even get into the fitness industry focused on helping us have bigger muscles or more toned bodies. In short, people are extremely interested in losing fat and gaining muscle — and DXA appears to be a tool aimed at, to paraphrase this story, taking the guesswork out of figuring out how well you’re doing. It is, perhaps, inevitable that news outlets will cover this tool and its effectiveness. But these stories should also highlight how and whether they can give people insight into any potential medical problems — or whether it’s primarily a pricey tool for indulging our interest in our own bodies.