2018 Student Research Conference:
31st Annual Student Research Conference

A Pilot Study of Within-Day Variation in Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis of Body Fat in College Men and Women


Rachel C. Hillman* and Jacob W. Hammond
Prof. Liz Jorn and Dr. Jerry Mayhew, Faculty Mentors

Bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) has become a popular technique for measuring body fat (%fat).  The purpose of this study was to determine the within-day variability and significant difference among selected BIA devices.  Four men and three women were measured in early morning and late afternoon for urine specific gravity (Usg) to determine hydration and on 6 commercially available BIA devices to estimate %fat.  Although afternoon Usg was slightly higher (1.024 ± 0.021 g/cm3) than morning Usg (1.018 g/cm3), they were not significantly different.  There was a significant difference among BIA devices but not significant difference between morning (22.5 ± 9.4%) and afternoon (20.5 ± 8.7%) estimate of %fat.  Correlations between morning and afternoon %fat measures ranged from r = 0.63 to r = 1.00.  Results suggest that while various BIA devices may give different estimates of %fat, the values should not vary greatly depending on time of day. 

Keywords: Body Fat, Bioelectric Impedance Analysis, BIA, %fat, Hydration, Body Composition

Topic(s):Exercise Science
Health Science

Presentation Type: Poster

Session: 5-7
Location: GEO - SUB
Time: 3:30

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