Abstract

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the validity of an air-displacement plethysmography system (AP) within the general population, while wearing (1) a racing-type swimsuit (APSS) and (2) participant’s personal under-garments (APUG), against hydrodensitometry (HW). Fifty women and 50 men were measured for body volume, density, and fat percentage by HW and compared with APSS and APUG. For women, APUG and APSS were similar, although significant differences (p < 0.001) were observed between APUG and HW and between APSS and HW. For men, there was no significant difference between APUG and HW; however, significant differences (P <= 0.01) were found between APUG and APSS and between APSS and HW. The small discrepancy in measured values between AP and HW are within the measurement error for the instrumentation and these data support the use of AP for determination of body composition in adults across a wide range of body size (body mass index [BMI] 17.7-35.2 kg[middle dot]m-2) and age (18-57 y). Participants’ personal undergarments provide a practical alternative to a spandex swimsuit when measuring body composition by AP in women but not in men. Verf.-Referat