Eighth International Conference on Health, Wellness & Society

Abstract

I compare body fat in young, middle-aged, and old healthy adults using four different body fat assessment methods all performed in 60 seconds or less. Two hundred and two healthy adults between 20 and 88 years old served as subjects and were divided into three groups for both males and females. Each group was comprised of 30-35 subjects and consisted of a young group between 20-34 years old (mean age of 26±4 for males and 27±4 for females), a middle-aged group between 35-59 years old (mean age of 46±7 for both males and females), and an old group between 60-88 years old (mean age of 72±7 for males and 72±6 for females). The four methods used to assess body fat was Bioelectrical Impedance (InBody 770 device); skinfold calipers using regressive equations developed from seven skinfold sites; tape measure using regression equations developed from waist, abdominal, and hip circumference measurements and age, height, and weight; and body mass index (BMI), using regression equations developed from BMI, age, and gender. While excessive body fat is correlated with several diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and stroke and is an important aspect of all health/wellness programs, assessing body fat can be very expensive and times consuming using traditional methods, such as hydrostatic weighing and Duel-Energy X-Ray Absorpiometry (DEXA). Although hydrostatic weighing and DEXA are considered “gold” standard methods of assessing body fat, they are not practical in Health/Wellness clinics secondary to excessive time needed to assess body fat and the high monetary cost of the equipment. All four of the methods used in the current study are can assess body fat in 60 seconds or less and three of the four methods are very inexpensive and practical for all health/wellness clinics. This study was performed because it is currently unknown how these 4 methods compare to each other for young, middle-age, and old healthy males and females.