Comparison of Body Composition Techniques of DXA, BIS, and Ultrasound in College Students

SMSU Event Center BC

Purpose: This study compared the body composition estimations of the Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), Bioelectrical Impedance Spectroscopy (BIS), and Ultrasound (US) in college students. We hypothesized that there would be no differences in the body composition measurements between the devices and that there would be a high correlation between the devices for body composition. Methods: Four males (24.2 ± 2.1 years; 170.2 ± 6.1 cm; 84.9 ± 11.3 kg) and six females (22.1 ± 1.3 years; 157.4 ± 3.1 cm; 60.9 ± 15.5 kg) had their body composition measured using the DXA, BIS, and US. A one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was performed to determine if there was a difference between the body composition measurements between the devices. A Pearson correlation was also performed to determine the correlations in body composition. Results: Body fat percentage measures for the DXA, BIS, and US were 28.9 ± 9.5, 25.7 ± 10.7, and 21.2 ± 7.7 respectively. The ANOVA revealed there was no statistical difference in body composition results between the devices (F2,29 = 1.716, p = 0.199). The Pearson correlation coefficients between all three devices were strong with r = 0.923 (p < 0.01) for the BIS and US, r = 0.932 (p < 0.01) for the BIS and DXA, and r = 0.938 (p < 0.01) for the US and DXA. Conclusion: The results of this investigation indicate that all three devices have a high level of agreement in assessing body composition.