A Comparative Study of High-Frequency Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis and Dual-Energy X-ray Absorptiometry for Estimating Body Composition

Though bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) is a favorable tool for assessing body composition to estimate nutritional status and physical fitness, such as sarcopenia, there are accuracy issues. Hence, high-frequency (HF) BIA equipment uses an additional frequency of 2 and 3 MHz and has been developed as a commercial model. However, there are no studies validating the accuracy and safety of HF-BIA. Therefore, this study aims to assess the validity of HF-BIA in analyzing body composition relative to dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA). Appendicular lean mass (ALM), fat-free mass (FFM), and percentage of body fat (PBF) were assessed by HF-BIA and DEXA in 109 individuals; 50.5% (n = 55) were males. The average age and body mass index (BMI) were 43.4 ± 14.7 years and 25.5 ± 6.7 in males and 44.9 ± 14.1 years and 24.0 ± 6.4 in females, respectively. The HF-BIA results showed a high correlation with the DEXA results for assessing ALM (standard coefficient beta (β) ≥ 0.95), FFM (β ≥ 0.98, coefficient of determinations (R2) ≥ 0.95), and PBF (β ≥ 0.94, R2 ≥ 0.89). Body composition measured by HF-BIA demonstrated good agreement with DEXA in Korean adults.