Evaluation of a foot-to-foot bioelectrical impedance analyser in highly active, moderately active and less active young men

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Abstract
The Tanita TBF-305 (Tanita Corp., Tokyo, Japan) is a commercially available foot-to-foot bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) system. The manufacturer-supplied equations incorporate gender, mass, height, activity category and a measured impedance value to determine % body fat (BF). The purpose of the present study was to determine whether the manufacturer-supplied ‘adult’ and ‘athlete’ equations provided an accurate estimate of % BF for a group of young men with varying activity levels. Fifty-seven men (18–35 years old) were categorized into the following groups: (1) highly active (HA) (≥10·0 h aerobic activity/week); (2) moderately active (MA) (2·5–10·0 h aerobic activity/week); (3) less active (LA) (PP=0·309) and MA (P=0·091). However, a significant difference was found for LA (P=0·001). The % BF determined by the ‘adult’ mode and HW was not different for LA (P=0·395), but was significantly different for MA (PP<0·001). The choice of activity mode on the foot-to-foot BIA significantly alters prediction of % BF. With careful selection of activity mode, there was no statistical difference between % BF determined by HW and the BIA, but the range of individual error scores was large.