Degree of agreement of percentage fat mass in young adults estimated with skinfolds versus bioelectrical impedance

Abstract

Introduction: there are different methods to estimate the percentage of fat mass, among them are anthropometry and bioimpedance. Objective: this study seeks to demonstrate the degree of agreement of the percentage of fat mass estimated with bioelectrical impedance versus skin folds in a healthy adult population. Methods: agreement study; made up of 44 students from the Adventist University of Chile. The percentage of fat mass obtained by anthropometry was estimated by the Siri formula (density estimated by the Durnin and Womersley equation) based on the bicipital, tricipital, subscapular and suprailiac folds, in triplicate; while for impedancemetry the Seca mBCA 525 equipment was used. The intraclass compensation coefficient (ICC) and Bland-Altman graph were applied, with R-Studio. Results: 65,91 % had an age between 18-22 years, the 52,27 % were women, 65,91 % with normal nutritional status and with 26,63±10,97% fat mass. An ICC=0.84 (95 % CI: 0,72-0,91) was found. Women and obese people had the lowest ICCs. The values are within the limits-11,39-+9,68 of the Bland-Altman graph. Conclusions: There is an acceptable level of agreement in the percentage of fat mass with the Siri formula versus bioimpedanciometry.