Comparison of Bioelectrical Impedance-Based Methods on Body Composition in Young Patients with Obesity
Alexandra Thajer,
Gabriele Skacel,
Katharina Truschner,
Anselm Jorda,
Martin Vasek,
Brian Horsak,
Johanna Strempfl,
Alexandra Kautzky-Willer,
Franz Kainberger,
Susanne Greber-Platzer
Affiliations
Alexandra Thajer
Division of Pediatric Pulmonology, Allergology and Endocrinology, Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, Waehringer Guertel 18–20, 1090 Vienna, Austria
Gabriele Skacel
Division of Pediatric Pulmonology, Allergology and Endocrinology, Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, Waehringer Guertel 18–20, 1090 Vienna, Austria
Katharina Truschner
Division of Pediatric Pulmonology, Allergology and Endocrinology, Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, Waehringer Guertel 18–20, 1090 Vienna, Austria
Anselm Jorda
Division of Pediatric Pulmonology, Allergology and Endocrinology, Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, Waehringer Guertel 18–20, 1090 Vienna, Austria
Martin Vasek
Division of Pediatric Pulmonology, Allergology and Endocrinology, Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, Waehringer Guertel 18–20, 1090 Vienna, Austria
Brian Horsak
Institute of Health Sciences, St. Pölten University of Applied Sciences, Matthias-Corvinus-Straße 15, 3100 St. Pölten, Austria
Johanna Strempfl
Department of Physiotherapy, St. Pölten University of Applied Sciences, Matthias-Corvinus-Straße 15, 3100 St. Pölten, Austria
Alexandra Kautzky-Willer
Gender Medicine Unit, Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Internal Medicine III, Medical University of Vienna, Waehringer Guertel 18–20, 1090 Vienna, Austria
Franz Kainberger
Division of Neuro- and Musculoskeletal Radiology, Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image-Guided Therapy, Medical University of Vienna, Waehringer Guertel 18–20, 1090 Vienna, Austria
Susanne Greber-Platzer
Division of Pediatric Pulmonology, Allergology and Endocrinology, Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, Waehringer Guertel 18–20, 1090 Vienna, Austria
(1) Background: The determination of body composition is an important method to investigate patients with obesity and to evaluate the efficacy of individualized medical interventions. Bioelectrical impedance-based methods are non-invasive and widely applied but need to be validated for their use in young patients with obesity. (2) Methods: We compiled data from three independent studies on children and adolescents with obesity, measuring body composition with two bioelectrical impedance-based devices (TANITA and BIACORPUS). For a small patient group, additional data were collected with air displacement plethysmography (BOD POD) and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). (3) Results: Our combined data on 123 patients (age: 6–18 years, body mass index (BMI): 21–59 kg/m²) and the individual studies showed that TANITA and BIACORPUS yield significantly different results on body composition, TANITA overestimating body fat percentage and fat mass relative to BIACORPUS and underestimating fat-free mass (p p p < 0.001) in males than females. (4) Conclusions: Both bioelectrical impedance-based methods provide significantly different results on body composition in young patients with obesity and thus cannot be used interchangeably, requiring adherence to a specific device for repetitive measurements to ascertain comparability of data.
