Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Brief Communication
  • Published:

Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry visceral adipose tissue estimates: reproducibility and impact of pre-assessment diet

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 72, pages 609–612 (2018)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

We examined the reproducibility of dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) visceral adipose tissue (VAT) estimates as well as the impact of pre-assessment diet. In a counterbalanced design, 41 adults received 6 DXA scans, while consuming standardized high- and low-carbohydrate (LC) diets. The impact of pre-assessment diet was examined via repeated-measures analysis of variance and reproducibility of VAT estimates was evaluated by technical error of measurement (TEM) and s.e. of a single determination (SESD). VAT area, mass and volume were acutely decreased by ~ 6.5% after the LC diet (P ≤ 0.001), but not the high-carbohydrate diet (P > 0.3). Differences persisted after an overnight fast. TEMs for VAT area, mass and volume were < 5 cm2, ≤ 0.2 kg and < 25 cm3. SESDs for all VAT variables were ≤ 5.5%. In conclusion, DXA VAT estimates exhibit good reproducibility in controlled conditions, but may be impacted by pre-assessment diet.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Despres JP. Is visceral obesity the cause of the metabolic syndrome? Ann Med 2006;38:52–63. https://doi.org/10.1080/07853890500383895

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Cornier MA, Despres JP, Davis N, Grossniklaus DA, Klein S, Lamarche B, et al. Assessing adiposity: a scientific statement from the American Heart Association. Circulation 2011;124:1996–2019. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIR.0b013e318233bc6a

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Rothney MP, Xia Y, Wacker WK, Martin F-P, Beaumont M, Rezzi S, et al. Precision of a new tool to measure visceral adipose tissue (VAT) using dual-energy X-Ray absorptiometry (DXA). Obesity 2013;21:E134–E136. https://doi.org/10.1002/oby.20140

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Ergun DL, Rothney MP, Oates MK, Xia Y, Wacker WK, Binkley NC. Visceral adipose tissue quantification using lunar prodigy. J Clin Densitometry 2013;16:75–78. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jocd.2012.09.002

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Tinsley GM, Morales E, Forsse JS, Grandjean PW. Impact of acute dietary manipulations on DXA and BIA body composition estimates. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2017;49:823–32. https://doi.org/10.1249/mss.0000000000001148

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Bone JL, Ross ML, Tomcik KA, Jeacocke NA, Hopkins WG, Burke LM. Manipulation of muscle creatine and glycogen changes DXA estimates of body composition. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2016;49:1029–1035.https://doi.org/10.1249/MSS.0000000000001174

  7. Ulijaszek SJ, Kerr DA. Anthropometric measurement error and the assessment of nutritional status. Br J Nutr 1999;82:165–77.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Staten MA, Totty WG, Kohrt WM. Measurement of fat distribution by magnetic resonance imaging. Invest Radiol 1989;24:345–9.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Katzmarzyk PT, Greenway FL, Heymsfield SB, Bouchard C. Clinical utility and reproducibility of visceral adipose tissue measurements derived from dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry in White and African American adults. Obesity (Silver Spring) 2013;21:2221–4. https://doi.org/10.1002/oby.20519

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Thaete FL, Colberg SR, Burke T, Kelley DE. Reproducibility of computed tomography measurement of visceral adipose tissue area. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 1995;19:464–7.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The original data collection was supported by Baylor University and the present analysis was supported by Texas Tech University.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Kinesiology and Sport Management, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, USA

    Grant M Tinsley

  2. Department of Health, Human Performance, and Recreation, Baylor University, Waco, TX, USA

    Jeffrey S Forsse, Elisa Morales & Peter W Grandjean

Authors
  1. Grant M Tinsley
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Jeffrey S Forsse
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Elisa Morales
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Peter W Grandjean
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Grant M Tinsley.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Tinsley, G.M., Forsse, J.S., Morales, E. et al. Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry visceral adipose tissue estimates: reproducibility and impact of pre-assessment diet. Eur J Clin Nutr 72, 609–612 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41430-017-0038-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41430-017-0038-1

Search

Advanced search

Quick links