Journal of Applied Physiology, Vol 63, Issue 3 937-941, Copyright © 1987 by American Physiological Society
Body composition in adolescents: estimation by total body electrical conductivity
E. Presta, A. M. Casullo, R. Costa, A. Slonim and T. B. Van Itallie
Department of Medicine, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center, New York 10025.
This comparative study, conducted on 28 boys and girls of widely varying
fatness, was designed to validate a new whole-body composition method
[total body electrical conductivity (TOBEC)], based on bioelectrical
properties of the human body. A significant correlation [r = 0.911;
standard error of the estimate (SEE) = 5.3 kg] was demonstrated between the
transformed TOBEC scores (TOBEC0.5 X Ht) and lean body mass (LBM)
determined by hydrodensitometry and corrected for individual variations in
hydration (LBMd + W). TOBEC determinations also correlated well with 1)
total body water determined by deuterium oxide dilution (r = 0.877; SEE =
4.5 liters), 2) total body potassium determined by means of a 4 pi
whole-body counter (r = 0.860; SEE = 430.7 meq), 3) LBM derived from
skinfold thicknesses (r = 0.850; SEE = 5.8 kg). The residuals of the
regression between LBMd + W and TOBEC scores did not show any significant
correlation with either the potassium or the water content of the LBM. The
results indicate that TOBEC is a simple, rapid, reliable, and noninvasive
technique for delineating changes in body composition that occur in
children during growth.
