Assessment of Standing Multi-Frequency Bioimpedance Analyzer to Measure Body Composition of the Whole Body and Limbs in Elite Male Wrestlers

We investigated differences in body composition measurements for the whole body and limb segments in elite male wrestlers between results of multi-frequency bioelectrical impedance analyses (MF BIA ) and dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Sixty-six elite male wrestlers from Taiwan were recruited. Wrestlers’ body fat percentage (PBF WB ), whole body fat-free mass (FFM WB ), whole body lean soft tissue mass (LSTM WB ), and fat-free mass of arms, legs and trunk (FM Arms , FFM Legs , FFM Trunk ) were measured by MF BIA and DXA, and analyzed using Pearson correlation coefficient and Bland–Altman plot. Correlations of FFM WB , LSTM WB , and PBF WB between devices were 0.958, 0.954, and 0.962, respectively. Limits of agreement (LOA) of Bland–Altman plot were −4.523 to 4.683 kg, −4.332 to 4.635 kg and −3.960 to 3.802%, respectively. Correlations of body composition parameters FFM Arms , FFM Legs and FFM Turnk between devices in each limb segment were 0.237, 0.809, and 0.929, respectively; LOAs were −2.877 to 2.504 kg, −7.173 to −0.015 kg and −5.710 to 0.777 kg, respectively. Correlation and consistency between the devices are high for FFM, LSTM and PBF but relatively low for limb segment FFM. MF BIA may be an alternative device to DXA for measuring male wrestlers’ total body composition but limb segment results should be used cautiously.