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ARS Home » Plains Area » Grand Forks, North Dakota » Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center » Dietary Prevention of Obesity-related Disease Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #124731
Title: DEVELOPMENT OF BIOELECTRICAL IMPEDANCE ANALYSIS PREDICTION EQUATIONS FOR BODY COMPOSITION WITH THE USE OF A MULTICOMPONENT MODEL FOR USE IN EPIDEMIOLOGIC SURVEYS

Author
item SUN, SHUMEI - WRIGHT STATE UNIVERSITY
item CHUMLEA, WM - WRIGHT STATE UNIVERSITY
item HEYMSFIELD, STEVEN - COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
item Lukaski, Henry
item SCHOELLER, DALE - UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
item FRIEDL, KARL - US ARMY
item KUCZMARSKI, KARL - US PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE
item FLEGAL, KATHERINE - US PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE
item JOHNSON, CLIFFORD - US PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE
item HUBBARD, VAN - NATL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH

Submitted to: The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/5/2002
Publication Date: 2/1/2003
Citation: Sun, S.S., Chumlea, W.C., Heymsfield, S.B., Lukaski, H.C., Schoeller, D., Friedl, K., Kuczmarski, K., Flegal, K.M., Johnson, C., Hubbard, V. 2003. Development of bioelectrical impedance analysis prediction equations for body composition with the use of a multicomponent model for use in epidemiologic surveys. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 77:331-340.

Interpretive Summary: The bioelectrical impedance method for assessment of human body composition is attractive to nutrition scientists because it is safe, non invasive, easy to use, and provides valid determinations of fat free mass and total body water. Although numerous studies have attempted to demonstrate the accuracy and validity of this method, they have been limited by the use of small numbers of human volunteers. The present study has overcome this drawback by determining the validity of the bioelectrical impedance method in children and adults who participated in a national nutrition and health survey. By using reference data from five centers in the United States, a prediction equation for determination of fat free mass and total body water was developed based on measurements of impedance, height, body weight, age and sex in 1829 white and black volunteers. Cross validation procedures showed that the errors in the prediction of fat free mass and total body water were similar to data published in smaller groups of adults. This information will be useful to epidemiologists and nutritionists who seek to measure body composition safely and conveniently with minimal disruption of the volunteer.

Technical Abstract: Previous studies to develop and validate bioelectrical impedance (BIA) models to predict body composition are limited by small sample sizes, sex- specificity and reliance on reference methods that use a two component model. The present study was designed to develop sex-specific BIA equations to predict total body water (TBW) and fat-free mass (FFM) using a multicomponent model for children and adults. Data from 5 centers were pooled to create a total sample of 1474 whites (594 males and 880 females) and 355 blacks (140 males and 215 females) aged 12-94 yrs. TBW was measured by using isotope dilution and FFM was estimated with a multicomponent model based on densitometry, isotope dilution and dual energy x-ray absorptiometry. The PRESS statistic was used to evaluate the need for race- specific prediction equations. The race-combined TBW prediction equations for males and females included stature**2/resistance (S**2/Res) and body weight with R**2s of 0.84 and 0.79, respectively, and root mean square errors (RMSE) of 3.8L and 2.6L, respectively, with coefficients of variation (CV) of 8%. These equations tended to under-predict TBW in black males (2.0L) and females (1.4L), and over-predict TBW in white males (0.5L) and females (0.3L). The race-combined FFM prediction equations for males and females each contained the same independent variables (S**2/Res, weight and Res) with R**2s of 0.90 and 0.83, respectively, RMSE values of 3.9 kg and 2.9 kg, respectively, and CVs of about 6%. These equations tended to under-predict FFM in black males (2.1 kg) and females (1.6 kg) and over- predict FFM in white males and females (0.4 kg and 0.3 kg, respectively). These BIA prediction equations have excellent precision and are recommended for use in epidemiological studies to describe body composition.