Relationship Between Skinfold, Air Displacement Plethysmography, and Bioelectrical Impedance Measurements of Female Collegiate Athletes

Document Type

Conference Proceeding

Publication Date

2-17-2018

Publication Title

Proceedings of the Southeastern American College of Sports Medicine Regional Conference

Abstract

Background: Anthropometric measures such as body composition are important to assess in athletic populations. Previous research has suggested that different methods of estimating body fat percentage (BF%) vary among populations, however, limited research exists in this relationship among lean, athletic female populations.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between three body composition methods (3-site skinfold [3-SF]; air displacement plethysmography [ADP]; and bioelectrical impedance [BIA]) in female collegiate athletes.

Methods: Seventy-four Division I female athletes underwent a single test battery consisting of body composition evaluation using ADP, BIA, and 3-SF tests to estimate BF%. Pearson correlations were run to analyze the relationship between the three methods of determining BF%.

Results: Both formulas for 3-SF (Siri: 19.3 ± 5.2%; Brozek: 19.1 ± 4.8%) revealed a perfect (r = 1.000, p <0.001) relationship with each other, and same correlation with other measurements. A significant, strong positive correlation was found (r = 0.756, p < 0.001) between BIA (21.3 ± 6.0%) and 3-SF. A significant, moderate positive correlation (r = 0.313, p = 0.015) existed between 3-SF and ADP (18.9 ± 5.9%). BIA and ADP were not significantly correlated with each other (r = 0.219, p = 0.093).

Conclusion: Due to its correlation with ADP, 3-SF may be a valid estimation of BF%, while BIA may overestimate BF% in this population.

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