I wonder if you are talking about different kinds of DEXAs. The DEXAs you can get on your own recognizance for cash in the US are not allowed to give you diagnostic information (BMD at the femoral hip and spine — though they do give you whole-body BMD). Are the verboten DEXAs in the UK of the same sort?
The fact that you need a doc’s prescription for a relatively noninvasive diagnostic test, tells you that this is a racket. At least with drugs, I can understand not wanting to have randos popping pills, some pretty powerful and potentially lethal stuff that can harm you or others. But noninvasive diagnostic tests, like scans and blood tests? That sounds like gatekeeping and rent seeking. Frankly, I’d sooner err in the other direction - as long as you sign a paper taking full legal responsibility, you should be able to get any medication cleared by the FDA, simply on request.
But fine, I understand the drug position. This nonsense though is just a money grab.
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In the US you guys need a prescription to get a CGM as well I think whereas it is OTC all around the world. In most countries if you want whatever test you want you book you pay and that’s it.
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I am a strong believer in all things being equal; money helps you live longer with a better quality of life.
As for US expectancy, the working class has been absolutely gutted in the last 40 years. The chat shows you the reason.
China’s expectancy has been rising mainly because its people have become wealthier and basic goods are affordable.
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Maybe a different “type” of non-diagnostic DEXA? Or the guy quoted in The Guardian article is lying?
Not for long though. They’re getting absolutely devastated by heart disease and diabetes now. Combined with low birth rates, their population is literally dying off.
It looks to me that most Americans are still pretty damn wealthy compared to most other countries. For example, UK figures are far lower: Household total wealth in Great Britain - Office for National Statistics
Top 1% of UK households (i.e. typically two adults) have a net worth of £3.6M ($4.7M), comparable to the US top 10%. The UK top 10% is apparently £530K ($700K)
A country getting wealthier is helpful because you see less deaths from communicable disease, malnutrition, neonatal mortality, pregnancy etc. Then you see a rise in deaths from CVD. For example, the most common cause of death in Sub-Saharan Africa is… myocardial infarction (followed by neonatal disorders, malaria). Most common cause of death in Afghanistan is… myocardial infarction (followed by conflict/violence, neonatal deaths).
IMO, the problem is simply the huge costs and barriers to entry in the US system.
I haven’t read the Guardian article but it sounds like he is being economical with the truth!!
I get my DEXA scans from DEXA Scan | Private DEXA Body Scans in London, UK | My Vital Metrics
They do them in London and Manchester.
It’s slowly getting better here…with emphasis on slowly
We can now order specific versions of CGMs from dexcom and Abbott with no rx.
Some labs, like Quest, also allow you to order some blood tests with no prescription. Insurance won’t pay, but at least it’s an option.
I know this because I just arranged for a cgm and an A1c blood test for a landscaper we love who has no insurance and no doctor.
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I think you can only get the old inaccurate CGMs without a prescription, but they repackaged them as new…
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I think @RPS is right on this and there is no regulatory reason why a medical practitioner needs to gatekey paid for DexaScans.
I have described here my experience with the Abbott OTC CGM offering “Lingo”, and can confirm it’s spectacular garbage. I did a triple simultaneous comparison with a blood draw at UCLA, a fingerprick monitor Accu-Chek and the dogsh|t Lingo in the same session at the same time. The Accu-Chek was off by 8 points, flaming garbage Lingo by 40 points.
I described elsewhere the sanity defying uselessness of Lingo, with readings so outrageous that they’d frequently go beyond the parameters to the point the CGM would simply stop reporting any data at all, as if my glucose levels were hypoglycemic on the level of a deceased person in a state of advanced decomposition. On the flip side, the variability from one minute to the next could be on the order of 250 points. And don’t even mention the moronic and dysfunctional app. I tried two if them in case the first one was a lemon or a practical joke. Utter trash, both.
The experience was so bad, that it’s put me off CGMs in general. I’ll wait until better technology comes along. The current offerings are in my experience simply catastrophic. I listen to other people’s positive experiences like to reports of beachside resort living on Mars. My body is not suited to current technology CGMs.
I did try abbot and it was ok, but not as good as dexcon. I also tried e500 which made things up
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Getting a prescription is very easy and free. I just emailed to my doc and he sent a script to Costco the same day and Costco gave me a generous member discount because my insurance wouldn’t cover it for the reason that I don’t have diabetes. So it all worked pretty smoothly and fast.
Medicare still works very well and covers everything I need. I compared my coverage with what my friends have in Europe - the difference is huge in favor of Medicare.
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The website you linked says:
Our scans differ from Private Medical and hospital Dexa Scans, in that we use full body scanners at our dedicated London Fitness Lab to give an overall picture of body composition for fitness. Medical scans usually provide very high resolution dexa scans focused on one area to measure bone density for medical purposes, not fitness.
So yeah, this is a different type of DEXA for “fitness” and not for “medical purposes”
This would seem to suggest that we have not seen the end of the trend for shortening of life expectancy in the USA
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If I had a particular medical issue maybe I would want to have it focussed on one particular body part, but as I don’t I want the bone density across my whole body. The comprehensive body composition reports give this. I think they only say this is for “fitness” purposes only because regardless of what comes up they are not going to give any medical advice. This is just to protect themselves.
You should try it, you won’t be disappointed. (Get a VO2 Max done at the same time).
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A sweeping new study led by researchers at the Yale School of Public Health (YSPH) reveals striking disparities in life expectancy across U.S. states and the District of Columbia over the past century.
The study, published in JAMA Network Open, provides new insights into how public health policies, social conditions, and environmental factors appear to have fundamentally shaped Americans’ longevity based on where they live.
Analyzing more than 179 million deaths between 1969 and 2020, the multi-institutional research team traced life expectancytrends by birth cohort—a more precise measure for following the life experience of a population than traditional year-by-year summaries of mortality, which represent a mix of many generations.
Their findings paint a sobering picture: while some states saw dramatic gains in life expectancy, others, particularly in the South, experienced little or no improvement over an entire century.
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I would agree with this statement / judgement. Today was a spectacular and sunny 78 degree F. day.
Top 10 Healthiest Places to Live in the U.S. via Wallethub:
| Overall Rank | City | Total Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco, CA | 68.05 |
| 2 | Honolulu, HI | 63.34 |
| 3 | Seattle, WA | 63.00 |
| 4 | Salt Lake City, UT | 62.82 |
| 5 | San Diego, CA | 62.62 |
| 6 | Portland, OR | 62.26 |
| 7 | Denver, CO | 61.18 |
| 8 | Minneapolis, MN | 61.17 |
| 9 | Washington, DC | 61.08 |
| 10 | Huntington Beach, CA | 60.51 |
via Wallethub’s Healthiest & Unhealthiest Cities in America (2025) list
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