Cross-validation Of Body Composition Assessment Methods Among Physically Active & Athletic Young Women

Activity levels and athletic training intensity has increased significantly among young women over the past several decades. Many methods of assessing body composition (BC) among this population were developed prior to this. Purpose To cross-validate six methods of BC assessment among 25 active, athletic females. Methods Testing post-absorptive early in the day, we compared skinfolds by Jackson and Pollack (JP) and Slaughter, Lohman and Boileau (SLB), bioelectrical impedance by leg-to-leg using a standard (LL-S) and athletic (LL-A) equation and by wrist to ankle (WA) and near-infrared interactance (NIR) with a criteria hydrostatic weighing (HW). Results Mean (SD) weight was 59.5(6.6) kg, height 165.5 (7.8) cm, and age 21.1(2.5) years. Percent body fat (%BF, mean(SD) by each method and prediction error (PE, mean) for the six methods are shown below. Two methods (LL-S and WA) were significantly greater than HW by repeated ANOVA(p>0.05). PV was fair (<4.5) to not recommended for the six methods. Conclusion Three methods (JP. SLB, and LL-A) offer acceptable methods for assessing BC, but efforts to improve these techniques may be warranted. Aspects of Sports:Table