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Comparison of Body Composition Estimates in Hispanic Women by Dual-Energy X-ray Absorptiometry and Hydrostatic
Sarah E Deemer1, Diana E Kolb2, Nicole L Cipriano2
1Department of Kinesiology, University of Texas at El Paso, United States; Department of Kinesiology, Health Promotion & Recreation, The University of North Texas, United States.
Introduction:
Accurate assessment of body composition is critical for understanding health risks and developing appropriate interventions, particularly in underrepresented populations. The purpose of this study was to compare the body composition estimate (% body fat [%BF]) between dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and hydrodensitometry via hydrostatic weighing (HW) in a group of Hispanic pre-menopausal women.
Methodology:
Healthy Hispanic women (n=78, age: 22-51 years, BMI: 18.5-42.5) were measured for body composition by DXA and HW at a single lab visit. %BF from HW was calculated from body density using three commonly used adult-specific equations (2-component [2-C] Siri, 2-C Brozek, 3-component [3-C] Lohman) and a 2-C Hispanic-specific equation. Comparisons between the two methods (DXA and HW) were analyzed using paired t-tests, and linear regression and Bland-Altman plots were used to assess agreement between the two methods.
Results:
%BF was significantly higher by DXA compared to all four HW equations (P < 0.01). Based on regression analyses the mean difference scores were not different from zero for all estimates of %BF.
Conclusions:
While DXA and HW are both common laboratory measures for determining %BF, given the time-efficiency, minimal participant effort, and high precision, %BF estimation by DXA appears to be an adequate and sufficient method of measurement of body composition in Hispanic women.
