The Department of Health has launched an inquiry to assess if it is safe for healthy people to have body scans, amid concern at their use in "health MOTs".

A committee including senior members of the Royal College of Radiologists and Royal College of Physicians will look at whether the long-term benefits of CT scans for people with no obvious sign of illness are greater than the risk of radiation exposure.

It is due to report next year. Britons spent £65m on such scans in 2004 and the market is growing. But some deliver radiation equivalent to 200 x-rays and can lead to a small increased risk of cancer.