MEASUREMENT OF ABDOMINAL AND VISCERAL FAT WITH COMPUTED-TOMOGRAPHY AND DUAL-ENERGY X-RAY ABSORPTIOMETRY

These studies were undertaken to compare dual-energy x-ray absorptiome try (DXA) and computed tomography (CT) measurements of abdominal fat a nd to determine whether anthropometry could be combined with DXA to pr edict intraabdominal (visceral) fat mass in humans. Twenty-one volunte ers underwent abdominal CT scans, DXA, and anthropometry. DXA- and CT- measured total abdominal fat were similar (8448 +/- 5005 and 8066 +/- 5354 mL, respectively; NS) and were highly correlated (r = 0.985, P < 0.001). The combination of anthropometry and DXA was a suboptimal pred ictor of CT-measured intraabdominal fat (r = 0.61, P < 0.05); however, the combination of a single CT slice (to assess the ratio of intraabd ominal to total abdominal adipose tissue) and DXA-measured abdominal f at was an excellent predictor of CT-measured intraabdominal fat (r = 0 .98, P < 0.001). We conclude that a single-slice CT scan (or other ima ging technique) with or without DXA is required for accurate predictio ns of intraabdominal fat.