Noom Body Scan: A new way to track weight loss progress

What you’ll learn:  

• Noom Body Scan uses your smartphone’s camera to provide a comprehensive view of your body composition, including body fat percentage and lean mass.      
• The Body Scan feature uses advanced AI technology to deliver highly accurate and reliable results, making it a powerful tool for tracking your health progress.       
• Noom’s Noom Body Scan transforms your health data into actionable insights, helping you make informed decisions about your diet, exercise, and overall wellness goals.

Understanding your health goes beyond the number on the scale. That’s why we created a powerful Body Scan feature right in your Noom app. This advanced feature creates a 3D avatar of your body using just your smartphone’s camera—no special equipment needed!  It also gives you a complete view of your body composition, including details like body fat percentage, lean mass, and body measurements like waist, chest, and things. We designed Noom Body Scan to offer accurate and reliable insights to help you track your progress and make informed decisions for a healthier lifestyle.

Tracking body fat and muscle mass is crucial during weight loss, as some muscle loss often accompanies fat loss. Maintaining muscle is key to supporting a healthy metabolism. If your muscle mass dips, so could the number of calories you burn per day. If you’re using GLP-1 medications like Ozempic, tracking lean mass is even more important, as these can result in rapid weight loss. More rapid weight loss is often associated with greater muscle loss if you don’t follow a diet with adequate protein and do enough resistance training. 

“GLP-1s are highly effective in driving weight loss; however, much of the weight lost is actually muscle mass,” explains Geoff Cook, CEO of Noom. “Our Muscle Defense™ fitness program emphasizes resistance training, and our thousands of high-protein recipes encourage healthy eating, but we needed a simple and accurate way to monitor muscle-mass retention. Now we have it. Now everyone on Noom can gain the body intelligence to live better longer.”

Learn how to take the perfect 3D body scan and what to pay attention to as you lose weight and get healthier with Noom. Not a Noom subscriber yet? Fill out this quick questionnaire to see how much you can lose with Noom. 

What’s the difference between body fat percentage and BMI?

Body fat percentage and BMI (body mass index) are both used to assess a person’s health based on their body makeup, but they provide very different insights. 

• BMI is a simple calculation based on height and weight. It helps categorize people into general weight categories but doesn’t differentiate between fat, muscle, or other tissues, which can lead to misleading results—especially for people with higher muscle mass or unique body compositions. It isn’t a very useful number for generating personalized health insights.
• Body fat percentage, on the other hand, provides a more detailed look at your body composition. It measures the proportion of fat compared to lean mass (like muscles, bones, and organs). Tracking your body composition is a more useful indicator of health risks and progress, particularly when your body is changing during fitness and weight loss programs.

BMI can broadly categorize people, while body fat percentage helps you understand what’s really changing in your body. You’ll know whether you’re losing fat, gaining muscle, or maintaining a healthy balance. 

Noom Body Scan makes it easier than ever to monitor these changes and gain a clearer picture of your health.

How accurate is Noom Body Scan technology?

Precision matters in health tracking, and Noom Body Scan sets a new standard. Noom developed this technology in partnership with Prism Labs. Recent tests have found that the results are highly consistent, meaning that when you do back-to-back scans under the same conditions, you will get the same results. The precision error rate for body fat percentage is ± 0.50 %, and for body circumferences is ± 0.90%.

You may have measured your body fat % at the gym or using a bathroom scale that runs an electrical current through your body. That methodology is also valid, but don’t be surprised if the numbers disagree by a few percent. Focus on using the technology to track changes and progress toward your goals. 

But we know what you’re thinking: Can a smartphone really do that?

The AI-powered feature in Noom Body Scan uses some fantastic tricks to give you reliable results. It doesn’t just guess—it learns. Powered by millions of data points, this technology analyzes your unique body shape with remarkable precision. The scanner provides detailed metrics that would take several tools to measure before, like:

• Body fat percentage
• Fat mass and lean mass (in pounds)
• Key body measurements: waist, hips, chest, arms, and legs

And it’s more than just numbers.

Noom’s body scanning technology goes beyond simple measurements, offering insights that matter for long-term health. 

For example, significant weight loss, especially with GLP-1 medications, can result in muscle loss, with 30 to 40% of the weight loss coming from lean mass. Maintaining muscle is critical, as losing it increases the risk of weight regain and health issues like sarcopenic obesity—a condition where excess fat and reduced muscle mass combine to raise health risks.

Noom body scan technology helps track these changes. “Our partnership with Prism Labs makes accurate body mapping available to everyone,” says Cook. Its scientific foundation and actionable insights make it an innovative tool for those seeking sustainable, long-term wellness.

How can I access and use Noom Body Scan?

Noom’s body scan feature is easy to use and available to paying Noom members. Here’s everything you need to know about accessing and performing a scan.

How do I perform a body scan?

Once you’ve located the body scan feature, follow these steps:

1. Tap the “Start Your Body Scan” task card on your home screen.
2. Tap Continue on the following screen to begin.
3. Follow the guided instructions to complete your scan.
4. Once the scan is complete, a Capture Complete pop-up will appear. Tap Continue to proceed.
5. The screen will update to Processing Body Scan, and after processing, it will display Health Report Generated, prompting you to view your health report.

Note: Make sure the Noom app has camera access on your device to complete the scan.

How do I get the most accurate scan results?

Body Scan provides an estimate of your body composition and measurements using hundreds of data points. While it’s a powerful tool for tracking trends over time, results may occasionally vary compared to other analyses. To ensure the most accurate and consistent results, follow these tips:

1. Optimize your environment

• Choose a well-lit space. Bright, natural light works best to ensure the camera detects your entire body clearly.
• Keep your background neutral and clutter-free. Use a plain wall or an area free of objects and furniture to reduce interference.

2. Prepare your appearance

• Wear skin-tight clothing. This highlights your body’s contours for more precise measurements. For consistency, wear the same outfit for every scan.
• Keep hair off your shoulders and face. This prevents it from obstructing key areas during the scan.

3. Position yourself and your device

• Stand straight and rotate 360°. Extend your arms slightly away from your body to capture accurate contours.
• Set your phone at waist height. Lean it securely against a stable object or use a tripod for optimal positioning.
• Listen to the prompts: The feature includes videos showing you how to position yourself and how to move to capture the best scan. 

Troubleshooting Noom Body Scan: Why is my body scan not generating accurate results?

While studies show that Body Scan results can be highly accurate, they may not exactly match results from other analyses you’ve done. The tool is most effective for tracking trends over time by comparing one scan to the next. If your scan doesn’t seem accurate, try again wearing different clothing or in a clutter-free space for better results. Several factors can affect the accuracy of your body scan:

• Obstructions: Ensure the area is clear of objects and make sure the camera can see your whole body, including your feet.
• Lighting: Perform the scan in a well-lit space, ideally with a blank wall behind you. 
• Movement speed: Rotate steadily, aligning your spin with the app’s 10-second countdown.
• Background activity: During the scan, clear the background of children, pets, or others.
• Clothing and hair: To ensure accurate measurements, wear skin-tight clothes and keep your hair off your shoulders and face.
• Internet connection: A stable internet connection is necessary for processing the scan data effectively.

How often should I perform a body scan?

For optimal tracking, we recommend a body scan every two weeks. This frequency allows you to monitor changes in your body composition and make informed adjustments to your health routine. Noom will prompt you for a new scan every two weeks to remind you to complete it.

What insights can my body scan provide about my diet and exercise routine?

The Noom Body Scan feature analyzes your body fat percentage, lean mass, and several different measurements and how they change over time. These metrics can help determine whether your diet and exercise habits are working. 

Here are some examples: 

• Increased lean mass and decreased body fat may indicate that your current routine and food choices promote muscle growth and fat loss. 
• If you see an increase in body fat with a decrease in lean muscle, you might need to up your resistance training or look at your nutrient balance. 

In every health report, we’ll provide recommendations for what you can do to maintain or improve your body composition.

What is a healthy range for my body composition metrics?

Healthy ranges for body composition metrics vary based on age, sex, and individual health conditions. Noom’s health report provides personalized insights, comparing your measurements to healthy ranges and demographic averages. This customized feedback helps you understand where you stand and guides you toward achieving optimal health.

Noom Body Scan: Monitor your progress with precision 

Tracking your body composition gives you a clear view of your progress beyond just the number on the scale or BMI. Noom Body Scan helps you monitor changes in muscle, body fat, and key measurements. It also provides personalized recommendations to support your health goals, offering a science-backed and user-friendly approach to wellness.

Noom Body Scan is an easy and effective way to stay on top of your health. It gives detailed insights that were once only available using expensive medical equipment. When you sign up for Noom Weight or Noom Med, you can access this innovative tool and other resources to help you achieve lasting results. 

Start with Noom today and take a smarter, more sustainable step toward better health.