Related Experiment Videos
Assessing body composition before and after resistance or endurance training
C E Broeder1, K A Burrhus, L S Svanevik
1Human Performance Laboratory, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City 37614-70654, USA.
Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise
|May 1, 1997
Summary
Near-infrared interactance (NIR) and bioelectric impedance (BIA) showed limited accuracy in tracking body composition changes during endurance and resistance training. Skinfolds were more reliable for monitoring fat and fat-free mass shifts in trained individuals.
Area of Science:
- Exercise Physiology
- Body Composition Analysis
- Sports Science
Background:
- Accurate tracking of body composition changes is crucial for evaluating training program effectiveness.
- Near-infrared interactance (NIR) and bioelectric impedance (BIA) are non-invasive methods for body composition assessment.
- The validity of NIR and BIA in reflecting changes induced by specific training modalities requires further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the validity of NIR and BIA in tracking body composition changes over 12 weeks of high-intensity endurance (ET) or resistance training (RT).
- To compare the effectiveness of NIR and BIA against hydrostatic weighing (HW) and anthropometric measurements (skinfolds) in untrained males undergoing training.
Main Methods:
- Subjects underwent hydrostatic weighing (HW), anthropometric measurements (skinfolds, girth), BIA, and NIR before and after a 12-week training intervention (ET or RT) or control period.
- Changes in fat weight (FW) and fat-free weight (FFW) were analyzed using HW as the criterion measure.
- Correlation and agreement analyses were performed to compare BIA and NIR with HW and skinfolds.
Main Results:
- Hydrostatic weighing revealed significant decreases in relative body fat in both ET (reduced FW) and RT (reduced FW, increased FFW) groups.
- Skinfold measurements showed reasonable agreement with HW in tracking body composition changes across all groups.
- BIA and NIR demonstrated limitations in accurately tracking body composition changes, with NIR underestimating FFW gains in RT and BIA underestimating changes in the ET group.
Conclusions:
- Skinfold measurements are a more reliable tool than BIA and NIR for tracking body composition changes during endurance and resistance training.
- BIA and NIR may not be suitable for monitoring alterations in body composition in individuals engaged in structured exercise programs.
- Further research is needed to refine non-invasive body composition techniques for use in exercise settings.