Full-body MRIs are the latest celebrity-endorsed health craze. Will they save your life?

October 2, 2023

Gary J. Young says that the full body MRI trend is not just about the astronomical costs to individuals but about the additional strain on a system that already relies too heavily on imaging and not enough on preventative measures.

The newest wellness trend isn't a cleanse or a supplement. It's instead full-body MRIs, an incredibly expensive and resource-intensive scan that threatens to overload an already tenuous healthcare system.

These scans are often unnecessary even when prescribed by doctors, as a 2021 study by Gary J. Young, Northeastern University Center for Health Policy and Healthcare Research and strategic management and healthcare systems professor, found that MRIs are already over-prescribed for the general population. He fears the additional strain celebrity endorsement may bring.

“For people of average risk, the likelihood of detecting anything of any serious concern is very, very low. It's not a good way for us to use our scarce resources for health care,” says Young. Healthcare experts, including Young, are especially concerned that full body scans might cause people to ignore their own body signals that something may be wrong because an MRI gave them a clean bill of health.