Agreement between anthropometric and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry assessments of lower-limb volumes and composition estimates in youth-club rugby athletes

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to assess the agreement of lower-limb volume estimates based on anthropometry and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) as a reference method in male rugby athletes. Predictive models using body mass and skinfolds were tested to improve the relative agreement between protocols (anthropometry, DXA). Rugby players (n = 41; 19.9 ± 2.2 years) volunteered for the study. Lower-limb total and fat-free volumes were estimated by anthropometry and also derived using DXA. Cross-validation between the anthropometry technique and DXA was then performed. Lower-limb volume estimates by anthropometry overestimated reference values and tended to be further from the reference values with the increase of scale. For the total sample, standard errors of measurement for volume estimates by anthropometry were 1.99 L and 1.34 L for total and fat-free volumes, respectively. Correlations with reference values were 0.81 for lower-limb volume and 0.90 for lower-limb fat-free volume. Correlations between estimated prediction equations and reference values showed higher correlations (r = 0.96 for lower-limb volume and r = 0.93 for lower-limb fat-free volume) compared with anthropometric estimates. Overall, the agreement of anthropometry method to quantify lower-limb volumes with DXA as a reference in young adult rugby players is acceptable and is a practical method when more expensive and complex techniques are not available. The consideration of body mass and lower-limb skinfolds increases the precision of lower-limb volume estimates using anthropometry in the young adult rugby players.