Comparison between two methods of bioelectrical impedance analyses for accuracy in measuring abdominal visceral fat area

Abstract

ObjectivesTo compare the accuracy of abdominal visceral fat area (VFA) measurements between abdominal dual bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) and whole-body BIA referenced to computed tomography (CT) measures. MethodsAbdominal VFAs were measured in 102 individuals: 59 men and 43 women with a mean age of 44.2±16.3years (range 21 – 76), body mass index 23.9±7.8kg/m2 (range 18 – 35) using a DUALSCAN HDS-2000 machine (dual abdominal BIA) and an InBody720 machine (whole-body BIA). The VFA values from each machine were compared with those from CT under various conditions. ResultsMean abdominal VFAs were 116±69cm2 by CT, 89±47cm2 by dual abdominal BIA, and 84±33cm2 by whole-body BIA. The former measure showed a higher correlation with the CT measure than the latter (r=0.89 vs. r=0.64, P<0.001). Both BIA methods tended to underestimate abdominal VFAs compared with CT scans when CT VFA was not small. The dual abdominal BIA had less bias than the whole-body BIA in the assessment of VFAs. The whole-body BIA was affected by subcutaneous fat area. ConclusionsDual BIA was more accurate in assessing abdominal VFA than whole-body BIA.