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Use of bioelectrical impedance analysis to assess body composition in rural Gambian children

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 62, pages 1065–1074 (2008)Cite this article

Abstract

Objective:

To validate the Tanita BC-418MA Segmental Body Composition Analyser and four-site skinfold measurements for the prediction of total body water (TBW), percentage fat-free mass (%FFM) and percentage body fat (%BF) in a population of rural Gambian children.

Subjects/Methods:

One hundred and thirty-three healthy Gambian children (65 males and 68 females). FFM estimated by the inbuilt equations supplied with the Tanita system was assessed by comparison with deuterium oxide dilution and novel prediction equations were produced. Deuterium oxide dilution was also used to develop equations for %BF based on four-site skinfolds (biceps, triceps, subscapular and suprailiac).

Results:

The inbuilt equations underestimated FFM compared to deuterium oxide dilution in all the sex and age categories (P<0.003), with greater accuracy in younger children and in males. The best prediction of %FFM was obtained from the variables height, weight, sex, impedance, age and four skinfold thickness measurements (adjusted R2=0.84, root mean square error (MSE)=2.07%).

Conclusions:

These data suggest that the Tanita instrument may be a reliable field assessment technique in African children, when using population and gender-specific equations to convert impedance measurements into estimates of FFM.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to all the children who took part in the study. We thank Yankuba Sawo for his great help in tracing the subjects for the follow-up study. We also thank the MRC fieldworkers Kabiru Ceesay, Morrikebba Sanyang, Lamin Darboe, Sherrif Kolley and Fabakary Sise for their enthusiastic help with this project, and to all the staff at MRC Keneba for their support. In addition, we thank Drs Gail Goldberg and Ann Prentice for their valuable comments on the manuscript. Andrew Prentice is a member of the Tanita Medical Advisory Board and has received past research funding from Tanita UK. The current study was financially supported by the European Union Sixth Framework Programme for Research and Technical Development of the European Community ‘Early Nutrition Programming Project’ (FOOD-CT-2005-007036) and the UK Medical Research Council.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Wageningen University and Research Centre, Wageningen, The Netherlands

    M Prins

  2. Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, MRC International Nutrition Group, Nutrition and Public Health Intervention Research Unit, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK

    S Hawkesworth, A J C Fulford, A M Prentice & S E Moore

  3. MRC Keneba, MRC Laboratories, The Gambia, West Africa

    S Hawkesworth, A J C Fulford, L M A Jarjou, A M Prentice & S E Moore

  4. MRC Human Nutrition Research, Elsie Widdowson Laboratory, Cambridge, UK

    A Wright

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  1. M Prins
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Correspondence to S E Moore.

Additional information

Contributors: SH, AJCF, AMP and SEM designed the study, MP and SH conducted the fieldwork and the data analysis, and wrote a preliminary version of the manuscript, AW performed all laboratory analyses and AJCF supervised all statistical analyses. All authors contributed to the final version of the manuscript.

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Prins, M., Hawkesworth, S., Wright, A. et al. Use of bioelectrical impedance analysis to assess body composition in rural Gambian children. Eur J Clin Nutr 62, 1065–1074 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602830

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