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Assessment of body composition in Sri Lankan adults: development and validation of bioelectrical impedance prediction equation

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 74, pages 1100–1103 (2020)Cite this article

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Abstract

Bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) is a simple and quick method used for assessment of body composition (BC). Present study aims to develop and validate a BIA prediction equation for Sri Lankan adults. Healthy adults (≥18 years) were randomly selected for development and validation of the equation. BIA was performed using the Inbody 230 multifrequency analyzer. BC analysis was also evaluated by deuterium oxide (D2O) dilution. Prediction equations for TBW/FFM were derived by linear-regression analysis. Study population included 170 adults, of which 32.9% were males. Mean age and BMI were 43.2 ± 12.6 years and 24.1 ± 4.5 kg/m2, respectively. Final equation for TBW (r = 0.915, p < 0.001) and FFM (r = 0.906, p < 0.001) correlated significantly with values obtained by D2O dilution. Therefore, this equation is suitable for estimation of BC parameters, such as TBW, FM, FFM, and %BF in Sri Lankan adults, and is possibly appropriate for use in other South Asian populations, including those living in Western countries.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge Mrs. Connie Wishart, Queensland University of Technology, Australia for analysing the deuterium samples.

Author contributions

RJ devised the conceptual idea and study design. WMUAW, PR, and RJ were involved in data collection. PR and RJ were involved in statistical analysis and drafting the paper. All authors provided critical feedback on paper. LW and VPW revised the paper. All authors read and approved the final paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo, Colombo, Sri Lanka

    R. Jayawardena & L. Wanninayake

  2. Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia

    R. Jayawardena

  3. Ministry of Health Care and Nutrition, Colombo, Sri Lanka

    W. M. U. A. Wijetunga

  4. Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo, Colombo, Sri Lanka

    P. Ranasinghe

  5. Department of Paediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo, Colombo, Sri Lanka

    V. P. Wickramasinghe

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  1. R. Jayawardena
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  2. W. M. U. A. Wijetunga
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  3. P. Ranasinghe
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  4. L. Wanninayake
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  5. V. P. Wickramasinghe
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Correspondence to R. Jayawardena.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Informed written consent was obtained from study participants prior to recruitment and the study was approved by the Ethical Review Committee, Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka.

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Jayawardena, R., Wijetunga, W.M.U.A., Ranasinghe, P. et al. Assessment of body composition in Sri Lankan adults: development and validation of bioelectrical impedance prediction equation. Eur J Clin Nutr 74, 1100–1103 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41430-019-0521-y

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