A new estimation equation to assess body composition in an athletic population.

Background: Research has shown air displacement plethysmography (ADP) to be a valid and reliable alternative to dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) in the general population; however, its validity and reliability indicate conflicting evidence in an athletic population. The purpose of this study is to develop a novel estimation equation using body density obtained from ADP in an athletic population to assess body fat percent (BF%) more accurately.

Methods: One hundred and thirty (males, n = 69; females, n = 61) National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I athletes participated in this study. Thirty athletes were randomly withheld for the hold-out sample, and the remaining 100 athletes were used in the development of the equation. Body composition was evaluated using ADP and DXA. Linear regression was used to develop a new prediction equation (Equation 1) with body density (ADP) as the independent variable and BF% (DXA) as the dependent variable. Repeated measures analysis of variance was used to identify differences between ADP-Brozek, DXA, and Equation 1. Interclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) were assessed to evaluate the reliability of the equation.

Results: Significance was set to p < 0.05. Linear regression was conducted to create Equation 1, which explained 90.5% of the variance. ADP-Brozek reported lower BF% than Equation 1 (p < 0.001) in the development and hold-out samples; however, BF% from Equation 1 and DXA were not different from each other (p = 0.999). ICCs were strong in both samples (original sample: ICC = 0.975, p < 0.001; hold-out sample: ICC = 0.964, p < 0.001).

Conclusion: The newly proposed equation may be used with ADP measurements to interpret BF% in an athletic population.