A PATIENT from Clevedon has said the information he discovered from a scan has probably extended his life, Clinton Rogers writes.

Musician and filmmaker James Hester said he changed his diet and lifestyle after what he found out thanks to a scanning service detecting dangerous levels of unseen fat inside your body at Yeovil Hospital.

The scan is called DXA Body Composition Scanning and among other things it measures visceral fat around your organs, which if left unchecked can lead to type 2 diabetes, strokes, heart attacks or dementia.

Although James, 47, 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.

Today he said: “I honestly think it’s been a life saver for me. 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 that every 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.

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

"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.”

It is a simple, painless procedure. People just lie on a scanning bed for seven minutes.

It’s not enclosed like an MRI, and straight afterwards they get the results.

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 through their web page: www.kingstonwing.co.uk