ABSTRACT
Background: The degree of agreement bbetween different methods to assess total body composition is not well known. Aim: To determine the level of agreement for total body fat mass measurement by dual-photon absorptiometry (DEXA), bioelectrical impedance (BIA) and anthropometry using the deuterium dilution method as the gold-standard technique, in normal male volunteers. Subjects and methods: Total body fat mass was measured by DEXA, BIA, anthropometry and deuterium dilution in thirty one healthy men, aged 41.9 ñ 8.6 years old. Results: Mean differences in percentage of total body fat compared with deuterium dilution were 0.3 percent ñ 2.2, 1.3 percent ñ 3.4 and 1.8 ñ 2.3 percent for DEXA had the lower difference with deuterium dilution and the confidence intervals for this difference (ñDS) showed that, at the individual leve, the maximum difference was 4.4 percent. Conclusions: All the methods evaluated gave similar average measurements for total body fat mass, but with different individual variability. In this group of healthy male subjects, DEXA was the best method in terms of agreement with the gold-standard