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Validity of the leg-to-leg bioimpedance to estimate changes in body fat during weight loss and regain in overweight women: a comparison with multi-compartment models

International Journal of Obesity volume 31, pages 756–762 (2007)Cite this article

Abstract

Objectives:

To investigate changes in body composition and the validity of the leg-to-leg bioimpedance (LTL) method to measure body fat during active weight loss (WL) and weight regain (WR).

Design:

Longitudinal, 12-week weight loss intervention (3.3–3.8 MJ/day) and subsequent follow-up at 1 year.

Subjects:

Fifty-eight adult women aged between 24 and 65 years (mean age: 46.8±8.9 years) and with a body mass index (BMI) ⩾25 kg/m2 (mean BMI: 31.6±2.5 kg/m2, range=26.0–48.2 kg/m2) participated in the study.

Measurements:

Fat mass (FM) was measured at baseline, 12 weeks, 24 weeks and 52 weeks using three- and four-compartment (4-C) models, air displacement plethysmography (ADP), deuterium dilution – total body water (TBW), dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), skinfold thickness (SFT), tetrapolar bioelectrical impedance analysis (T-BIA) and LTL.

Results:

At the end of the weight loss programme, subjects lost 9.9±3.5 kg weight (P<0.001) and 7.6±0.5 kg fat (P<0.001) but after 1 year they had regained 4.9±3.7 kg of weight and 3.7±2.9 kg of fat. The 4-C model showed that FM and TBW accounted for 76.2 and 23.6% of the loss in body mass and 81.8 and 17.7% of the tissue accrued during weight regain, respectively. The estimate of body fat change by LTL relative to multi-compartment models (WLbias±2s.d.=0.51±3.26 kg; WRbias±2s.d.=−0.25±2.30 kg) was similar to ADP, DXA and TBW in both phases but it was better than T-BIA (WLbias±2s.d.=0.17±7.90 kg; WRbias±2s.d.=−0.29±7.59 kg) and skinfold thickness (WLbias±2s.d.=2.68±6.68 kg; WRbias±2s.d.=−0.84±3.80 kg).

Conclusions:

Weight loss and regain were associated with minimal changes in lean tissue as measured using multi-compartment models. The LTL system is a useful method to measure body composition changes during clinical weight management programmes.

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Acknowledgements

We thank to Mr Anthony Wright for the stable isotopes analysis, Dr Gail R Goldberg and Mrs Lorraine Cooney for the assistance with volunteers and measurements and Dr Adrian Mander for statistical advice. The study was funded by Tanita UK Ltd.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. MRC Human Nutrition Research, Elsie Widdowson Laboratory, Fulbourn, Cambridge, UK

    S A Jebb, M Siervo & S Evans

  2. Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Facility, Addenbrooke's Hospital, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK

    P R Murgatroyd

  3. Department of Endocrinology, Clínica Universitaria de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain

    G Frühbeck

  4. MRC International Nutrition Group, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK

    A M Prentice

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  1. S A Jebb
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Correspondence to S A Jebb.

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Jebb, S., Siervo, M., Murgatroyd, P. et al. Validity of the leg-to-leg bioimpedance to estimate changes in body fat during weight loss and regain in overweight women: a comparison with multi-compartment models. Int J Obes 31, 756–762 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0803475

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