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.

  • Perspective
  • Published:

Physiology of exercise and phase angle: another look at BIA

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 72, pages 1323–1327 (2018)Cite this article

Subjects

Physical exercise induces molecular, cellular, and tissue changes of an acute nature with an impact on chronic adaptations that tend to improve health. Exercise can also be programmed with the purpose of promoting adaptations understood as relevant to sport performance. In addition to exercise physiology, which investigates the mechanisms, structural, and functional changes induced by acute and chronic exposure to physical exercise, exercise programming that is intended to train athletes and improve sports performance may be considered the most specific scope of physiology of sport. Thus, just as concepts of human physiology are applied to exercise physiology, theories, models, and principles of exercise physiology are applied in the context of sports training. Different permutations of stimuli in exercise programming, including intensity, duration, frequency, and density, have differential mechanistic processes and effects on cellular physiology, with an impact on the functioning of tissues and organs. It has long been observed [1] that the integrity and proper functioning of cells correspond to their own biophysical and bioelectric characteristics. In this short review, we will analyze the principles of the bioimpedance (BIA) method and its potential to identify changes in bioelectrical characteristics of exercise-induced cells, mainly through resistance training (RT), that impact health markers and functional body composition. Other reviews have comprehensively addressed the conceptual [2, 3] and descriptive applications of BIA in health and disease [4, 5].

In a series of several case studies as early as 1926, it was observed that breast cancer cells have greater permittivity under the influence of an electric field, when compared with healthy cells [6]. This was one of the first observations suggesting that functional and non-functional cells have different dielectric properties [7], which may reflect cellular membrane structure and function. With a different methodological approach within the scope of dialysis procedures, transient changes in the electrical properties of the tissues were recorded with the BIA technique through the phase angle (PhA) [8] defined as the geometrical angular transformation of the ratio between reactance (Xc) and resistance (R). Another research model is to look at the effects of soft tissue injuries and wounds on PhA. Minor strains without edema or structural damage, tears with edema, or complete ruptures are negatively related with PhA in a severity injury graded manner mainly through a consistent Xc decrease [9,10,11] involving impaired cell integrity (structure) of myocellular membranes and fluid shifts into interstitial space. The healing process improving cell membrane reconstitution tends to reverse these biophysical parameters.

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
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

References

  1. Pethig R. Dielectric properties of biologicalmaterials: biophysical and medical applications. IEEE Trans Electr Insul. 1984;EI-19:453–74.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Lukaski HC, Kyle UG, Kondrup J. Assessment of adult malnutrition and prognosis with bioelectrical impedance analysis: phase angle and impedance ratio. Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care. 2017;20:330–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Lukaski HC. Evolution of bioimpedance: a circuitous journey from estimation of physiological function to assessment of body composition and a return to clinical research. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2013;67(Suppl 1):S2–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Norman K, Stobaus N, Pirlich M, Bosy-Westphal A. Bioelectrical phase angle and impedance vector analysis--clinical relevance and applicability of impedance parameters. Clin Nutr. 2012;31:854–61.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Mulasi U, Kuchnia AJ, Cole AJ, Earthman CP. Bioimpedance at the bedside: current applications, limitations, and opportunities. Nutr Clin Pract. 2015;30:180–93.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Fricke H, Morse S. The electric capacity of tumors of the breast. J Cancer Res. 1926;10:340.

    Google Scholar 

  7. Pethig R. Dielectric properties of body tissues. Clin Phys Physiol Meas. 1987;8(Suppl A):5–12.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Scanferla F, Landini S, Fracasso A, Morachiello P, Righetto F, Toffoletto PP, et al. On-line bioelectric impedance during haemodialysis: monitoring of body fluids and cell membrane status. Nephrol Dial Transplant. 1990;5(Suppl 1):167–70.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Nescolarde L, Yanguas J, Medina D, Rodas G, Rosell-Ferrer J. Assessment and follow-up of muscle injuries in athletes by bioimpedance: preliminary results. Conf Proc IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc. 2011;2011:1137–40.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Nescolarde L, Yanguas J, Lukaski H, Alomar X, Rosell-Ferrer J, Rodas G. Effects of muscle injury severity on localized bioimpedance measurements. Physiol Meas. 2015;36:27–42.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Nescolarde L, Yanguas J, Terricabras J, Lukaski H, Alomar X, Rosell-Ferrer J, et al. Detection of muscle gap by L-BIA in muscle injuries: clinical prognosis. Physiol Meas. 2017;38:L1–l9.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Fuller NJ, Elia M. Potential use of bioelectrical impedance of the ‘whole body’ and of body segments for the assessment of body composition: comparison with densitometry and anthropometry. Eur J Clin Nutr. 1989;43:779–91.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Deurenberg P. Limitations of the bioelectrical impedance method for the assessment of body fat in severe obesity. Am J Clin Nutr. 1996;64(3 Suppl):449s–52s.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Waki M, Kral JG, Mazariegos M, Wang J, Pierson RN Jr, Heymsfield SB. Relative expansion of extracellular fluid in obese vs. nonobese women. Am J Physiol. 1991;261(2 Pt 1):E199–203.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Dos Santos L, Cyrino ES, Antunes M, Santos DA, Sardinha LB. Changes in phase angle and body composition induced by resistance training in older women. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2016;70:1408–13.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Ribeiro AS, Avelar A, Dos Santos L, Silva AM, Gobbo LA, Schoenfeld BJ, et al. Hypertrophy-type resistance training improves phase angle in young adult men and women. Int J Sports Med. 2017;38:35–40.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Bosy-Westphal A, Danielzik S, Dorhofer RP, Later W, Wiese S, Muller MJ. Phase angle from bioelectrical impedance analysis: population reference values by age, sex, and body mass index. JPEN . 2006;30:309–16.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Souza MF, Tomeleri CM, Ribeiro AS, Schoenfeld BJ, Silva AM, Sardinha LB, et al. Effect of resistance training on phase angle in older women: a randomized controlled trial. Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2017;27:1308–16.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Tomeleri CM, Ribeiro AS, Cavaglieri CR, Deminice R, Schoenfeld BJ, Schiavoni D, et al. Correlations between resistance training-induced changes on phase angle and biochemical markers in older women. (Scand J Med Sci Sports, in press).

  20. Cunha PM, Tomeler CM, Nascimento MA, Nunes JP, Antunes M, Nabuco HCG, et al. Improvement of cellular health indicators and muscle quality in older women with different resistance training volumes. J Sports Sci. 2018;1-6, https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2018.1479103.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Ribeiro AS, Schoenfeld BJ, Souza MF, Tomeleri CM, Silva AM, Teixeira DC, et al. Resistance training prescription with different load-management methods improves phase angle in older women. Eur J Sport Sci. 2017;17:913–21.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Ribeiro AS, Nascimento MA, Schoenfeld BJ, Nunes JP, Aguiar AF, Cavalcante EF, et al. Effects of single set resistance training with different frequencies on a cellular health indicator in older women. J Aging Phys Act. 2017;1–23, https://doi.org/10.1123/japa.2017-0258.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Sender R, Fuchs S, Milo R. Revised estimates for the number of human and bacteria cells in the body. PLoS Biol. 2016;14:e1002533.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Exercise and Health Laboratory, CIPER, Faculdade de Motricidade Humana, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal

    Luís B. Sardinha

Authors
  1. Luís B. Sardinha
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Luís B. Sardinha.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The author declares that he has no conflict of interest.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Sardinha, L.B. Physiology of exercise and phase angle: another look at BIA. Eur J Clin Nutr 72, 1323–1327 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41430-018-0215-x

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41430-018-0215-x

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links