COMPARATIVE-ANALYSIS OF BODY-COMPOSITION ASSESSMENT METHODS IN HEALTHY ADULT MEN

Background: The degree of agreement between different methods to asses s total body composition is not well known. Aim: To determine the leve l of agreement for total body fat mass measurement by dual-photon abso rptiometry (DEXA), bioelectrical impedance (BIA) and anthropometry usi ng the deuterium dilution method as the gold-standard technique, in no rmal male volunteers. Subjects and methods: Total bodyfat mass was mea sured by DEXA, BIA, anthropometry and deuterium dilution in thirty one healthy men, aged 41.9 +/- 8.6 years old. Results: Mean differences i n percentage of total bodyfat compared with deuterium dilution were 0. 3% +/- 2.2, 1.3% +/- 3.4 and 1.8 +/- 2.3% for DEXA1 BIA and anthropome try respectively. DEXA had the lower difference with deuterium dilutio n and the confidence intervals for this difference (+/-DS) showed that at the individual level, the maximum difference was 4.4%. Conclusions : All the methods evaluated gave similar average measurements for tota l body fat mass, but with different individual variability. In this gr oup of healthy male subjects, DEXA was the best method in terms of agr eement with the gold-standard.