More Americans "too fat for x-rays," say radiology researchers

The increasing number of obese Americans means two things for radiology: first, many are too heavy to be safely accommodated by scanning devices. Second, more people have so much body mass, the rays can't penetrate enough to yield quality imaging. Here's a BBC story summarizing a Radiology Journal report from the publication's August 2006 issue and here's a free abstract. The full text requires subscription. The synopsis:

Advances in imaging technology between 1989 and 2003 have focused on improving image quality; however, there has been a small but progressively increasing number of radiology reports described as "limited by body habitus."

I believe that's docspeak for human fat. As in, "Honey, does this body habitus make my butt look big?" (Thanks, Joe)