Comparison of Hydrodensitometry, Skinfold Thickness, and Dual-Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry for Body Fat Estimation in Youth Swimmers
in Pediatric Exercise ScienceHydrodensitometry (HD), skinfold thickness measurements (SK), and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) were compared for estimating percent body fat (%BF) in youth competitive swimmers. Agreement was assessed using Bland-Altman plots and linear regression of the differences between methods compared to method means. Limits of agreement between the three techniques were large. Hydrodensitometry and SK demonstrated no difference in precision. Variance was observed between DXA and the other two techniques, with DXA demonstrating a wider distribution of measurement scores than HD or SK. These methods do not appear to be interchangeable when measuring percent body fat in youth swimmers.
The authors are with the Department of Human Performance and Health Promotion at the University of New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana 70148.
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