Agreement of bioelectrical impedance with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry and MRI to estimate changes in body fat, skeletal muscle and visceral fat during a 12-month weight loss intervention

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to analyse the agreement of bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) compared with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and MRI in estimating body fat, skeletal muscle and visceral fat during a 12-month weight loss intervention. A total of nineteen obese adults (twelve females, seven males) aged 20·2–48·6 years, mean BMI 34·6 (se 0·6) kg/m2, participated in the study. Body fat, skeletal muscle and visceral fat index were measured by BIA (Omron BF-500; Omron Medizintechnik) and compared with DXA (body fat and skeletal muscle) at baseline, 5 and 12 months, and with MRI (visceral fat) at baseline and 5 months. The subjects lost 8·9 (se 1·8) kg (9·0 (se 1·7) %) of body weight during the 12-month intervention. BIA, as compared to DXA, accurately assessed loss of fat (7·0 (se 1·5) v. 7·0 (se 1·4) kg, P= 0·94) and muscle (1·0 (se 0·2) v. 1·4 (se 0·3) kg, P= 0·18). While body fat was similar by the two methods, skeletal muscle was underestimated by 1–2 kg using BIA at each time point. Compared to MRI, BIA overestimated visceral fat, especially in males. BIA and DXA showed high correlations for kg fat, both cross-sectionally and longitudinally (r 0·91–0·99). BIA, compared with DXA and MRI, detected kg muscle and visceral fat more accurately cross-sectionally (r 0·77–0·87 and r 0·40–0·78, respectively) than their changes longitudinally (r 0·24–0·61 and r 0·46, respectively). BIA is at its best when assessing the amount or changes in fat mass. It is a useful method for measuring skeletal muscle, but limited in its ability to measure visceral fat.