Investigating Ethnic Differences In Total Body Fat Using Body Composition Analytical Methods

Abstract

The reliable measurement and comparison of total body fat percentages (TBF%) via body composition analysis approaches in South Asian (SA), White (W), and Black African (BA) adults is largely undetermined. The purpose of the research is to assess the precision of TBF% across three distinct ethnic groups by implementing Tanita/bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) and Bod-pod/air displacement plethysmography (ADP). Design—30 healthy female university subjects. The following physical examinations had been taken: waist circumference (WC), hip circumference (HC), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), body weight, height, and body mass index (BMI). The interquartile range (IQR) was used to acquire the levels of physical activity (PA). Findings—The mean TBF% from BIA was 28.15 in SA, 28.54 in W, and 34.17 in BA. And from ADP, 21.9 in SA, 15.4 in W, and 2.9 in BA. Tukey’s test demonstrated that neither of the TBF% procedures showed any differentiation with p-values of o.256, 0.09, and 0.506 by BIA and ADP, respectively. The Mann-Whitney test revealed that differences in TBF% appeared solely in SA vs BA; p-values were 0.023 by BIA and 0.011 by ADP. The TBF% methods did not exhibit a significant correlation with any of the ethnic cohorts. The SA individuals signified insufficient PA, with an IQR of 0 (MET-min/week) in moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA). Conclusion—BIA overestimates TBF more than the ADP. Consequently, neither method represents potential variation in TBF within all study groups, despite highlighting the disagreement between SA and BA.