You can get a body composition test at gyms, imaging centers, university labs, and specialized wellness clinics. The right option depends on how accurate you need the results to be, what you’re willing to spend, and what’s available near you. Here’s a breakdown of where to go and what to expect from each type of test.
Gyms and Fitness Centers
The most accessible option is bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA), which sends a mild electrical current through your body to estimate fat, muscle, and water. Many gyms have professional-grade BIA machines, particularly InBody devices, which are common at Equinox and other mid-to-high-end fitness chains. You can search for nearby locations through the InBody app. Some gyms include a scan with your membership or offer it for a small fee, typically under $50.
BIA is fast, painless, and takes about a minute. The tradeoff is precision. When compared against DEXA (the clinical reference standard), BIA devices showed a mean error of roughly 3% to 8% for body fat percentage in men and 10% to 12% in women. That gap matters if you’re trying to track small changes, but BIA is still useful for spotting trends over time, especially if you use the same machine under the same conditions each time.
Imaging Centers and DEXA Clinics
For the most accurate results, a DEXA scan (dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry) is the standard. Originally designed for bone density testing, DEXA also produces a detailed map of fat, lean tissue, and bone across your entire body, including regional breakdowns for your arms, legs, and trunk. The scan takes about 10 to 15 minutes and involves lying still on a table while a low-dose X-ray arm passes over you.
Quest Diagnostics partners with Fitnescity to offer DEXA scans through a network of over 400 testing locations. You can search for availability at Fitnescity.com. Independent imaging centers and sports medicine clinics in most major cities also offer walk-in or scheduled DEXA scans. Prices generally range from $50 to $150 per scan, though some clinics bundle body composition with metabolic testing for a higher fee.
DEXA reliability is extremely high, with a correlation of 0.999 on repeated measurements, meaning it gives nearly identical results when you test under the same conditions. That consistency makes it the best choice if you want to track progress over months.
University and Research Labs
University human performance labs often offer body composition testing to the public, sometimes at lower prices than commercial clinics. These labs frequently have equipment you won’t find elsewhere, including the Bod Pod, which measures body fat through air displacement. You sit inside a sealed, egg-shaped chamber for a few minutes while it calculates your body volume and density. It’s quick, noninvasive, and considered highly precise.
The University of Alaska Anchorage’s Human Performance Lab is one example, offering Bod Pod testing by appointment. Many large state universities with exercise science or kinesiology programs run similar labs. Search for “human performance lab” or “body composition testing” along with the name of a university near you. Availability can be limited, and some labs pause public testing during busy academic periods.
What Each Test Costs
BIA at a gym is the cheapest option, often free with a membership or $25 to $50 as a standalone test. DEXA scans at imaging centers or clinics typically cost $50 to $150. Bod Pod testing at university labs falls in a similar range, sometimes slightly less. Hydrostatic (underwater) weighing, which is less common now, runs $40 to $100 where it’s still available.
Insurance almost never covers body composition testing for fitness purposes. Blue Shield of California, for instance, considers DEXA body composition studies “investigational.” Coverage may apply in narrow medical situations: monitoring muscle and fat loss in patients with HIV-related lipoatrophy, tracking body changes after bariatric surgery when weight loss exceeds about 10%, or evaluating patients with conditions like cancer, eating disorders, or significant muscle weakness. Outside of those scenarios, expect to pay out of pocket.
How to Prepare for Accurate Results
Preparation is straightforward but important. UC Davis Health recommends being well-hydrated and avoiding food for at least three hours before a DEXA scan. The same general rules apply to BIA and Bod Pod testing: don’t eat a large meal beforehand, avoid exercising in the hours leading up to the test, and stay consistently hydrated (but don’t chug water right before). For BIA specifically, hydration status significantly affects results because the electrical current travels through water in your tissues.
Try to replicate the same conditions each time you test. Same time of day, same hydration habits, same machine if possible. Consistency in preparation matters more than perfection.
How Often to Retest
Testing too frequently leads to frustration because real changes in body composition take time. The sweet spot for most people is every three months. That’s long enough for meaningful shifts in fat or muscle to show up clearly, and short enough to confirm whether your training or nutrition plan is working.
Testing every six months is reasonable if you’re maintaining rather than actively trying to change your body. Going more often than every eight weeks isn’t recommended, partly because the changes are too small to distinguish from normal day-to-day fluctuation, and partly because DEXA involves a small amount of radiation (though the dose per scan is very low). Whatever interval you choose, tracking a trend across multiple tests gives you far more useful information than any single number.