A SCAN that reveals hidden fat levels which can lead to serious health conditions is now available through private healthcare in Somerset.

The service, which can detect dangerous levels of unseen fat inside your body, is being offered at Yeovil District Hospital – and patients are travelling from across the country to use it.

One patient, musician and filmmaker James Hester, from Clevedon, said the information he discovered from his first scan has probably extended his life.

It is called DXA Body Composition Scanning which, among other things, measures visceral fat around your organs.

If left unchecked, this fat can lead to type 2 diabetes, strokes, heart attacks or dementia.

Although 47-year-old James thought he was fit and healthy, his first scan revealed visceral fat at levels that could have caused him serious harm.

So he set about changing his lifestyle, reducing his alcohol intake and adjusting his diet. And the next two scans revealed his fat levels had dropped significantly.

“I honestly think it’s been a life saver for me,” he said. “External fat you can see, but visceral fat is something completely different. It can only really be seen with a scan like this.”

The scans are being offered via the Kingston Wing, the private wing of Yeovil Hospital, using equipment normally used to measure bone density.

Patients pay for investigations or procedures, but any money raised goes straight back into the hospital, which means each patient treated supports the wider local health economy.

Clinical Technologist, Christopher James, carries out the scans privately in Yeovil Hospital’s Radiology department, as DXA Body Composition Scans are not part of the NHS clinical pathway.

“This is certainly proving to be important preventative health care, the like of which isn’t being offered in many places,” he said.

“And we are finding patients are travelling from all around the United Kingdom to use it.

“We are noticing that, following the Covid pandemic, people have really started to look after their health and are aware of the associated risks of high levels of internal fat.

“And our patients are reassured that, although this is a private procedure, it is performed in an NHS hospital by a medically trained healthcare professional.”

James added: “I was in the hospital through choice – not necessity. But I’m so glad I took advantage of this scan. It could make a huge difference to my future health.”

The Kingston Wing can be contacted on 01935 384234 or via www.kingstonwing.co.uk.