BODY COMPOSITION USING DXA VERSUS BIA IN A MIXED COHORT OF COLLEGE STUDENTS

Abstract

https://youtu.be/pzOWeEl1S_s BACKGROUND Body composition assessment is an important clinical and research tool. Dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) is the ‘gold standard’ and useful in the research environment, however, it is expensive, reliant on a trained technician, requires a large space, and is immoveable. Bioelectrical impedance (BIA) measurements have improved with the application of 8-electrode multifrequency units and could offer faster, cheaper, and portable alternative if measurements are comparable. The purpose of this study was to determine how well bone mineral content (BMC), lean body mass (LBM), and fat mass measurements made with BIA compared to those made with DXA. METHODS 46 (36 female) college students [avg 21.2 yr, 167.2 cm, 67.2 kg, 28.9% fat; 6 Asian, 4 Hispanic, 3 Black] had their BIA and DXA whole body composition measured within minutes of each other. Three compartments were compared BIA vs DXA: BMC, fat mass, and LBM. Pearson’s correlation coefficients were determined. RESULTS Absolute fat mass (r=0.95), lean mass (r=0.98), and BMC (r=0.91) were highly correlated between the assessment methods. CONCLUSIONS A quadripolar multifrequency BIA device can be a valid body composition surrogate in research environments using college students when a DXA machine is impractical to use.w