Dexafit Asia, launched in 2020 in Singapore, provides science-based health and fitness solutions that aren’t invasive, difficult or expensive.
It is ideal for the current Covid-19 climate to test how much wear and tear the body has undergone and what is needed to restore health and vitality.
The company’s team, operating out of Royal Square Novena, do an exhaustive analysis of key health markers which are beneficial for executives and professional who are confronted by many physical and mental challenges while working from home (WFH).
Many people, with no opportunity to socialise with colleagues, end up spending an entire day in bed or lazily slouched on their chairs. Extended hours of sitting may lead to muscle atrophy.
A survey conducted by Wunderman Thompson earlier this year found that Singaporeans have picked up or increased their unhealthy habits in the last year:
* Spending more time on screens (73 per cent)
* Becoming more sedentary (61 per cent)
* Eating more junk food (46 per cent)
* Not sleeping enough (40 per cent)
What is the impact of WFH on your health? How many hours of sitting is too much? If you have been WFH and living a sedentary life, are you at risk of suffering from osteoporosis?
DexaFit is an evidence-based fitness and wellness platform that takes the guesswork out of health. It offers medical grade diagnostic technologies and leading edge digital health tools to guide you in your personal health journey.
Its has four tests:
1) DEXA (Dual-energy absorptiometry) Body Scan
A DEXA body scan is a type of medical imaging test. It uses very low levels of X-rays to measure how dense your bones are.
The scan is quick and painless, taking up about 6 to 8 minutes. It quantifies your body composition and skeletal health, including your visceral fat (fat that wraps around your organs), which correlates to common heart and metabolic diseases, and total body fat percentage.
DEXA scan’s variance for total body fat percentage is just 3 per cent or lower, as opposed to the approximately 11 per cent margin of error you’d get from other commercial-grade options.
Through the scan you are able to gain a clearer understanding of your body composition health and identify personal long-term health risks, including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hormonal imbalances and more.
As it is a radiological test, you’ll go through a teleconsultation with a licensed medical professional beforehand. However, there’s nothing really to worry about as the radiation from a DEXA scan’s radiation is minimal.
The Pre-test protocol including eating normally bedore coming and wearing clothes for the test that do not have any metals, including zippers and buttons.
The scan takes only ten minutes, which you’ll spend lying down. After the scan is done, a Fitness Specialist will go through the results with you.
Cost: $309
2) RMR (Resting Metabolic Rate) test
The RMR is a simple, non-invasive test that accurately measures how many calories you burn at rest.
The pre-test protocol is limited to fasting for 8 hours.
During the test, a machine captures and analyses the composition of your breath, determining your oxygen consumption, to measure the rate at which you consume energy.
The test measures Resting Metabolic Rate (minimum amount of energy your body needs to function) and Resting Quotient (type of fuel, whether carbohydrates
or fats, your body is using at rest).
The test requires you to relax on a slightly reclined sofa for 20 minutes while wearing a heart rate monitor and mask which will both be connected to the metabolic cart. It is important to breathe normally with no hard breaths or fallin asleep.
Your results will be available immediately on your mobile device or printed. A Fitness Specialist will go through the results with you.
Cost: $149
3) 3D Body Scan
DexaFit 3D body scan tracks your posture and balance, which allows you to discover any imbalances in your body, for example your biceps or postural problems after too many hours at a desk.
This is great for injury prevention, aesthetics purposes and physical therapy.
Before the test, make sure you are not wearing skin-tight clothing or undergarments.
The 3D Scan measures the circumference of the body from neck to calves and also provides a front and side posture analysis.
You have to stand on a turntable for about a minute without any clothese. Curtains are provided for privacy.
The test takes about 40 seconds and your results are delivered to DexaFit’s app or an online dashboard that includes a 3D avatar of your body.
The results will provide you with insights of key areas of your body, including circumferences, lengths, widths and volumes.
When visualising your results, imbalances in muscle symmetry and strength, flexibility and joint mechanics will be revealed.
A Fitness Specialist will go through the results with you.
Cost: $69
4) VO2Max testing
VO2max is the maximum (max) rate (V) of oxygen (O?) your body is able to use during exercise. This test will identify your precise level of exercise intensity and time frame to burn unwanted fat and improve cardiovascular health.
The greater your VO2max, the more oxygen your body can consume and the more effectively your body can use that oxygen to generate the maximum amount of ATP (adenosine triphosphate) energy.
Your VO2max amount can also act as a benchmark to track your progress as you improve your athletic abilities or if you’re trying to keep your VO2max at a certain level to maintain your performance.
You have to do the test in sports attire, covered shoes and cleared to be fit to run using a PAR-Q waiver.
The VO2max test will measures your maximum oxygen consumption and optimal heart rate zones for exercise, along with calorie burnt. In short, it measures how healthy your heart and lungs are.
You will be asked a few questions by the Fitness Specialist to determine the difficulty level of test protocol.
You will then be fitted with a heart rate monitor and mask which will be connected to the metabolic cart.
The test is performed on a treadmill, after you do a 3-minute warm-up.
It will have an increase of inclination or both inclination of the treadmill and increase of speed depending on the difficulty of the test.
Once completed, a Fitness Specialist will go through the results with you.
Cost: $209.
All the tests are completed in just under two hours, including a comprehensive debriefing by trained staff.
The diagnostics are also compiled into a mobile application, Dexafit AI, that tracks your dynamic longevity score in line with any changes in diagnostics.
In short, it helps you track your data in an easy-to-read way.
More details about Dexafit can be found at https://www.dexafitasia.com/
