Dehghan Mahshid, Merchant Anwar T
Population Health Research Institute, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
Nutr J. 2008 Sep 9;7:26. doi: 10.1186/1475-2891-7-26.
Percentage of body fat is strongly associated with the risk of several chronic diseases but its accurate measurement is difficult. Bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) is a relatively simple, quick and non-invasive technique, to measure body composition. It measures body fat accurately in controlled clinical conditions but its performance in the field is inconsistent. In large epidemiologic studies simpler surrogate techniques such as body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, and waist-hip ratio are frequently used instead of BIA to measure body fatness. We reviewed the rationale, theory, and technique of recently developed systems such as foot (or hand)-to-foot BIA measurement, and the elements that could influence its results in large epidemiologic studies. BIA results are influenced by factors such as the environment, ethnicity, phase of menstrual cycle, and underlying medical conditions. We concluded that BIA measurements validated for specific ethnic groups, populations and conditions can accurately measure body fat in those populations, but not others and suggest that for large epidemiological studies with diverse populations BIA may not be the appropriate choice for body composition measurement unless specific calibration equations are developed for different groups participating in the study.
体脂百分比与多种慢性疾病的风险密切相关，但其准确测量较为困难。生物电阻抗分析（BIA）是一种相对简单、快速且无创的测量身体成分的技术。在受控的临床条件下，它能准确测量体脂，但在实际应用中的表现并不稳定。在大型流行病学研究中，更简单的替代技术，如体重指数（BMI）、腰围和腰臀比，常被用于替代BIA来测量肥胖程度。我们回顾了最近开发的系统（如足（或手）到足的BIA测量）的原理、理论和技术，以及在大型流行病学研究中可能影响其结果的因素。BIA结果受环境、种族、月经周期阶段和潜在疾病等因素影响。我们得出结论，针对特定种族群体、人群和条件进行验证的BIA测量可以准确测量这些人群的体脂，但不适用于其他人群，并建议对于包含不同人群的大型流行病学研究，除非为参与研究的不同群体开发特定的校准方程，否则BIA可能不是测量身体成分的合适选择。
