What a DEXA can show you about longevity | Peter Attia

This clip is from episode #261 of The Drive - Training for The Centenarian Decathlon: zone 2, VO2 max, stability, and strength

In this special episode filmed live in front of readers of Outlive, Peter answers questions revolving around his concept of the centenarian decathlon.

In this clip, we discuss:

- Why you should get a DEXA scan
- The ALMI and why it matters
- Important metrics to track for lifespan
- Strength vs muscle mass for determining lifespan

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About:

The Peter Attia Drive is a deep-dive podcast focusing on maximizing longevity, and all that goes into that from physical to cognitive to emotional health. With over 60 million episodes downloaded, it features topics including exercise, nutritional biochemistry, cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, mental health, and much more.

Peter Attia is the founder of Early Medical, a medical practice that applies the principles of Medicine 3.0 to patients with the goal of lengthening their lifespan and simultaneously improving their healthspan.

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[thagrintch]

Peter you are hands-down the most educated and helpful doctor. If every doctor could be as thorough and explain things the way you do, a lot more patients would be happier. Thank you for all your contributions to your patients and the medical community.

[GarethRussellUK]

Getting a DEXA scan in 8 weeks, so this is super timely and helpful, thanks!

[alfredopampanga]

The level of precision delivered is really beside the point. It’s enough to use the naked eye for all except the BMD. I can look at a patient and assess if he has visceral fat excess I don’t need to know exactly to institute treatment, for instance.
It’s as if the measurements have become the focus

[humblebeginner]

Just ordered my first one today and immediately found this clip because I remember you mentioning this in an old lecture about your own testing and it changed my thoughts on functional health and longevity. Thank you!!

[alaskahudson]

I got my dexascan done yesterday. I live in British Columbia, Canada.

I am very good with respect to age related (57 years of age) body fat, but I need to work on increasing my lean muscle mass.

[jelizabethpetrie]

Just had a recent dexa and Had to ask for a copy of my dexa to be sent to me. I’m 60 and while my doc mentioned osteopenia (apparently) because machine was shutting down, I mistook him for saying osteoporosis. So today I am calling for all past reports to be sent to me and my gp for the sake of these never being furnished to me. Which I am kinda shocked at. But you can always start becoming or reinvigorating your active participation in healthy longevity

[janiceg]

I had a dexa but I wasn't really told much, just bone score, I guess I have to ask more questions.

[wealthelife]

LOL. I've always been obese (since my late teens) and now in my 60s and having recently found out that I've developed NAFLD I'm finally getting a *lot* more serious about my BMI, VAT, BF% etc. and doing a lot more walking and resistance training this year (I wish I had adopted a CRON lifestyle back in my 30s when I first read about it!). But my DEXA ALMI from 5 years ago was 11.1 and last month was still 10.4 at age 62 after losing 30kg (mostly fat) over the past 6 months. So ALMI isn't always a particularly good 'key indicator'. I suppose I fell into the 'fat fit' category until I got even more sedentary after transitioning to 'work from home' since the Covid pandemic. 'Good genes' probably also helped in my case (I had a great aunt who lived to 104, paternal grandparents both lived to 94, and my parents are both alive in their 90s).
ps. While I got emailed my DEXA results, videos like this are very useful to help interpret some of the values like ALMI, VAT area etc.

[amreshchaudhary]

Is there anything we look for Dexa scan center like machine, radiation etc? It varies $39-$200 so not sure both are same or bot

[KJSvitko]

What about the bathroom scales that provide weight, bone score, BMI, water %, , Muscle mass, and fat %
Do these provide any benefit and are they reasonably accurate. They can track increase or decrease over time.
These are relatively inexpensive and can track progress on a daily basis.

[viktoriyakmassage]

Please can someone who operates Dexa scan reply? When you put a patient under the scanner - do you enter their age, sex and level of activity into it?

The reason I’m asking - I’ve had a few Dexa scans before, but now I’ve found a Bodytrax scanner in my gym, which is claiming to be almost as accurate as Dexa. I conducted my own “experiment” by creating a fake account for myself, where I registered as a 24 y/o male (and I have a genuine account for my 49-y/o female self). I scanned myself first as a young male and then as myself. The results differed by approx. 4 kg of fat and muscle mass. Individual limbs had a difference of approx 2-3kg in fat and muscle mass. Which all makes me conclude, that this machine is rubbish.

And then I thought of Dexa… what if it’s the same principle??

The best of all, I think, is MRI scan, where you can actually see everything, especially visceral fat, and the quality of your muscles.

[BobbyCavoodle]

Are smart scales such as Wyze replacements for a DEXA ? Thanks

[bobrose]

When I called for a Dexa price, she asked if I wanted hips, extremities, or spine. Should I get all 3?

[StephenPerlstein]

Anyone got a resource for where to look up percentiles for ALMI? I can't find anything free online.

[SchshCannxm-vl]

Martinez Charles Gonzalez Mark Perez Thomas

[sukhjotesingh]

Isn’t it better to check visceral fat?

[cindybuerkle]

I can't find a dexa scan anywhere in my region.

[nocarbsnation]

Problem is actually finding one of these tests available anywhere near me.

[ddvantandar-kwkl]

I was wondering about the moral of the story.

[dagobertovila]

Mr. Attia I believe that you are part of the system. You are obsessed with Testing instead of keeping people fit and healthy and free of disease you are recommending testing with a device that emits a certain level of radiation! If you are strength training regularly have high levels of muscle mass unless you’re taking a catabolic corticosteroid there is no way that you can have low bone mineral density! Please be very careful when you are speaking in front of an educated audience!