Research
Micronutrients & recovery
Standard body composition metrics (DXA) overestimate muscle loss in obesity because they misclassify visceral and subcutaneous fat as 'lean body mass'; MRI-based 'adipose tissue-free muscle volume' provides a more accurate assessment of true muscle mass.
If you are using DXA scans to track muscle loss on GLP-1s, be aware that these machines often mistake visceral fat for muscle. This can make it look like you are losing more muscle than you actually are. Focus on functional strength (grip, lifting) rather than just the DXA number.
GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
MRI and CT scans can attribute approximately 50% of adipose tissue volume to what is technically referred to as ‘lean body mass’... MRI can isolate so- called ‘adipose tissue- free muscle volumes’...
Why this rating
Based on technical validation of imaging modalities and expert consensus.
Source
Muscle Loss in Obesity Therapy as a Therapeutic Target: Trial Design and Endpoints for Regulatory Discussions
Stephan von Hörsten et al. · Journal of Cachexia Sarcopenia and Muscle · 2025
DOI 10.1002/jcsm.70147
narrative_reviewCited 3×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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