Validity of six field and laboratory methods for measurement of body composition in 10-14 year old boys

Parker, Lisa (2005) Validity of six field and laboratory methods for measurement of body composition in 10-14 year old boys. MSc(R) thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE; The primary objective of this study was to determine the validity of the following six body composition measurement methods against a 3-component reference method: total body water (TBW) by isotope dilution; air displacement plethysmography (BODPOD); estimation from body density using BODPOD; skinfold thickness using Slaughter equations; whole body bioelectrical impedance (Bodystat); and leg to leg bioelectrical impedance (TANITA). SUBJECTS: Forty-two healthy Caucasian 10 - 14 year old boys (mean age 12.9 years SD 1.0) recruited from local schools and youth football teams. PROCEDURES: The body composition of each subject was measured using all 7 methods (including the reference). All measurements were carried out by the same trained observer (the author) and the same criterion for assessment was used for each child in an attempt to minimise any error. Measures of body fat mass (kg) and body fat percentage from the 6 simpler methods were compared and validated against the measures derived from the reference by calculation of biases and 95% limits of agreement. RESULTS: Mean body fatness by the reference method was 16.4% (SD 11.6) and 8.7kg (SD 7.0). Estimates of fatness from TBW had the smallest bias relative to the reference (+0.9 + 5.0% body fat; +0.5 + 2.9kg fat mass). For all the other 5 methods tested, large biases and very wide limits of agreement were observed. CONCLUSIONS: The present study suggests that the validity of newer field and laboratory methods for estimation of body composition is poor in adolescent boys. For applications where high accuracy of estimation at the individual level is essential, only reference methods would be acceptable.

• Item Type: Thesis (MSc(R))
• Qualification Level: Masters
• Colleges/Schools: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences
• Supervisor's Name: Pitsiladis, Dr. Yannis and Reilly, Dr. John
• Date of Award: 2005
• Depositing User: Mrs Monika Milewska-Fiertek
• Unique ID: glathesis:2005-31017
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 07 Nov 2018 16:34
• Last Modified: 10 May 2019 15:02
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/31017