{"entity":{"id":"body-composition","kind":"term","name":"Body composition (lean mass, fat mass, visceral fat)","aka":["Skeletal muscle index","L3 muscle area","Visceral adiposity"],"tldr":"What a person's weight is made of: muscle, fat under the skin, fat around the organs. It predicts cancer outcomes far better than weight or BMI, and can be read from routine CT scans.","summary":"BMI misclassifies sarcopenic obesity and muscular individuals. CT at L3 gives skeletal muscle area and density, visceral and subcutaneous fat; DXA and bioimpedance are alternatives. Low muscle mass and low muscle density predict toxicity, complications and survival across cancers; high visceral fat predicts recurrence in colorectal cancer independently of BMI. Automated segmentation makes opportunistic reporting practical.","asOf":"2026-09-08","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_composition","links":[{"label":"Wikipedia","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_composition"}],"tags":[],"related":["idea-bio2-ai-sarcopenia-from-ct"],"cancers":[],"sections":[],"technologies":["nutrition-screening-mnt","resistance-training-cachexia","ct","radiology-ai-screening"],"targets":[],"drugs":[],"companies":[],"institutions":[],"pathways":[],"terms":["sarcopenia","cachexia","obesity-related-cancers"],"trials":[],"people":[],"bottlenecks":[],"keyPapers":[],"journals":[],"dependsOn":[],"notes":[],"category":"Nutrition & lifestyle"},"route":"/terms/body-composition/","neighbours":{"idea":[{"id":"idea-nl-glp1-adjuvant-hr-breast","kind":"idea","name":"GLP-1 receptor agonists as adjuvant weight-loss therapy in HR-positive breast cancer","route":"/ideas/idea-nl-glp1-adjuvant-hr-breast/"},{"id":"idea-bio2-ai-sarcopenia-from-ct","kind":"idea","name":"Read muscle loss automatically from scans patients already have","route":"/ideas/idea-bio2-ai-sarcopenia-from-ct/"}],"technology":[{"id":"radiology-ai-screening","kind":"technology","name":"AI in radiology","route":"/technologies/radiology-ai-screening/"},{"id":"cachexia-appetite-pharmacotherapy","kind":"technology","name":"Cachexia pharmacotherapy: GDF-15 blockade, anamorelin, olanzapine","route":"/technologies/cachexia-appetite-pharmacotherapy/"},{"id":"ct","kind":"technology","name":"CT (computed tomography)","route":"/technologies/ct/"},{"id":"ct-body-composition-sarcopenia","kind":"technology","name":"CT body composition and sarcopenia measurement","route":"/technologies/ct-body-composition-sarcopenia/"},{"id":"dietitian-led-weight-loss-breast","kind":"technology","name":"Dietitian-led weight-loss programmes in HR-positive breast cancer","route":"/technologies/dietitian-led-weight-loss-breast/"},{"id":"exercise-during-chemotherapy","kind":"technology","name":"Exercise during chemotherapy and radiotherapy","route":"/technologies/exercise-during-chemotherapy/"},{"id":"glp1-agonists-cancer-risk","kind":"technology","name":"GLP-1 receptor agonists and obesity-related cancer risk","route":"/technologies/glp1-agonists-cancer-risk/"},{"id":"rejuv-measure-body-composition","kind":"technology","name":"Measuring muscle and fat on scans the patient already had","route":"/technologies/rejuv-measure-body-composition/"},{"id":"muscle-recovery-after-cancer-treatment","kind":"technology","name":"Muscle and strength after treatment: sarcopenia, cachexia and what rebuilds","route":"/technologies/muscle-recovery-after-cancer-treatment/"},{"id":"nutrition-screening-mnt","kind":"technology","name":"Oncology nutrition assessment and medical nutrition therapy","route":"/technologies/nutrition-screening-mnt/"},{"id":"resistance-training-cachexia","kind":"technology","name":"Resistance training and protein for cachexia and sarcopenia","route":"/technologies/resistance-training-cachexia/"}],"term":[{"id":"cachexia","kind":"term","name":"Cancer cachexia","route":"/terms/cachexia/"},{"id":"obesity-related-cancers","kind":"term","name":"Obesity-related cancers (IARC list of 13)","route":"/terms/obesity-related-cancers/"},{"id":"sarcopenia","kind":"term","name":"Sarcopenia","route":"/terms/sarcopenia/"}],"trial":[{"id":"ponsegromab-phase-2","kind":"trial","name":"Ponsegromab phase 2 in cancer cachexia","route":"/trials/ponsegromab-phase-2/"},{"id":"romana-1-2","kind":"trial","name":"ROMANA 1 and ROMANA 2","route":"/trials/romana-1-2/"}],"pathway":[{"id":"lipid-metabolism-cancer","kind":"pathway","name":"Lipid synthesis, uptake & cholesterol","route":"/pathways/lipid-metabolism-cancer/"}]}}