Bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) equations validation against hydrodensitometry in a Colombian population

Abstract

Several studies have shown that the accuracy of BIA results depends of ethnicity, age, gender, hormonal and genetic variations and, so far, there are not specific equations for Colombian population. The purpose was to evaluate reported BIA equations to determine their usefulness in body composition assessment in young females from Colombia using hydrodensitometry as the reference method. A sample of 30 young females was evaluated. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were defined to minimize the variability of BIA. Height, weight, multi-frequency BIA, residual lung volume (RV) and underwater weight (UWW) were measured. Five BIA equations met the inclusion criteria of this study. Three equations overestimated and two equations underestimated body fat (BF). Paired Student t-test and Bland and Altman analysis (p<0.05) showed significant differences in four BIA equations. However, all standard error of estimate (SEE) to BF was greater than 2.7 kg. This study showed that the five selected BIA equations are not valid for estimation of body composition in young females from Colombia. It is recommended to develop BIA equations to improve BF fat assessment in our population.