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Related Experiment Videos

Body composition changes in bodybuilders: a method comparison.

Wouter D van Marken Lichtenbelt1, Fred Hartgens, Niels B J Vollaard

  • 1Department of Human Biology, Maastricht University, The Netherlands. Marken.Lichtenbelt@HB.unimaas.nl

Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise
|April 13, 2004
PubMed
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This study validates body composition methods for bodybuilders using the four-compartment (4C) model. The three-compartment model incorporating total body water (3Cw) is the best alternative for accurate individual body fat and fat-free mass changes.

Area of Science:

  • Exercise Physiology
  • Human Body Composition Analysis
  • Sports Science

Background:

  • Limited validation studies exist for body composition changes using the four-compartment (4C) model, especially within strength training contexts.
  • Bodybuilders utilizing exercise and androgenic-anabolic steroids present a unique population for assessing body composition measurement accuracy.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To validate various body composition assessment methods against the four-compartment (4C) model in male bodybuilders.
  • To determine the accuracy of different methods for measuring body fat and fat-free mass changes in this population.

Main Methods:

  • Cross-sectional study with 27 male bodybuilders, including a 15-subject intervention for change measurement.
  • Comparison of the four-compartment (4C) model (gold standard) with underwater weighing (uww), deuterium dilution (dil), three-compartment models (3Cw, 3Cb), DXA, BMI, skinfolds, and bioimpedance analyses.

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Main Results:

  • Mechanistic methods generally showed small biases and errors, with the 3Cw model exhibiting the lowest error (0.9% BF).
  • Descriptive methods had small biases but larger errors (5.5-8% BF), with the BMI-based prediction being an exception.
  • Results from the intervention study on body composition changes were consistent with cross-sectional findings.

Conclusions:

  • Most methods provide acceptable group mean values for body fat and fat-free mass, except for the BMI prediction and 3Cb model.
  • The three-compartment model incorporating total body water (3Cw) is the most suitable alternative to the 4C model for accurate individual body composition change measurements.