AI Could Redefine Body Composition Measurement

About this episode

What if the future of health optimization isn’t just about losing weight — but understanding what your body is actually made of? In this episode of The Better Body Lab Podcast, we explore how AI, computer vision, and smartphone technology may reshape the way we measure metabolic health, recovery, longevity, and performance. Together, we sit down with Prism Labs CEO Steve Raymond to examine why BMI often fails individuals — and why body composition, lean muscle mass, and visceral fat may provide a far more meaningful picture of long-term wellbeing. 

Steve explains how Prism Labs uses AI-powered smartphone scans to estimate body fat percentage, lean muscle, metabolic age, and visceral fat from a simple 30-second video. We explore the limitations of BMI, Dexa scans, and bioimpedance devices, while discussing why consistency and trend tracking matter more than obsessing over a single “perfect” number.

Our conversation also examines the growing role of lean muscle in metabolic resilience, especially for individuals using GLP-1 medications, and why visceral fat remains one of the most overlooked markers in preventative health. Along the way, we discuss data privacy, wearable technology, AI-driven wellness tools, and the future of personalized health optimization.

Steve Raymond:
Steve Raymond is the CEO of Prism Labs, the company turning any smartphone camera into a clinical-grade body composition scanner — measuring the biomarkers that matter most for longevity and health: metabolic age, body fat, lean muscle, and visceral fat. Prism is built as an enabling platform for innovators across longevity, fitness, weight management, and clinical care, and powers experiences for Noom, WeightWatchers, Signos, and Novo Nordisk. The team is now advancing the field with BodyGPT, a foundation model which uses every pixel in a video to push 3D optical scanning to new levels of precision — and was selected as a leading technology for the FNIH-backed REAL BODY study. It's the fifth time in 25 years Steve has jumped into a new technology early and done the work of turning science into product — helping it cross the chasm from early adopters into the mainstream. Earlier chapters: Yahoo! Music, co-founding YouTube-era creator company Big Frame (acquired by DreamWorks), and leading 8i, which pioneered neural networks and computer vision for 3D modeling of the human body. Steve holds an MBA from UCLA Anderson and a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Notre Dame.

For information about Prism Labs visit: www.prismlabs.tech

Follow Prism Labs here:

Instagram: @prismlabs.tech

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/prismlabs-inc/

Follow Steve here:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephenpraymond/ 

Key Timestamps:
00:00 — The Problem with BMI
01:20 — Podcast Introduction
02:50 — Steve Raymond’s Background
07:04 — Prism Labs’ Business Model
08:29 — What Is a Dexa Scan?
10:38 — Traditional Body Fat Measurement Methods
15:06 — The Challenge of Accuracy
20:39 — How Prism Labs Technology Works
23:41 — Why Visceral Fat Matters
27:14 — Using Smartphone Body Scans
30:12 — Revisiting BMI Limitations
33:56 — Data Privacy & AI Training
41:26 — Lean Muscle & Metabolic Health
43:17 — Episode Wrap-Up

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Dr. Taryn Marie: www.resilience-leadership.com/

Mike Alden: https://www.mikealden.com/ 

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Visit:

https://bodycaremd.com/

https://bioaccesslabs.com/