Subject Positioning in the BOD POD® Only Marginally Affects Measurement of Body Volume and Estimation of Percent Body Fat in Young Adult Men

INTRODUCTION The aim of the study was to evaluate whether subject positioning would affect the measurement of raw body volume, thoracic gas volume, corrected body volume and the resulting percent body fat as assessed by air displacement plethysmography (ADP). METHODS Twenty-five young adult men (20.7±1.1 y, BMI = 22.5±1.4 kg/m(2)) were measured using the BOD POD® system using a measured thoracic gas volume sitting in a 'forward bent' position and sitting up in a straight position in random order. RESULTS Raw body volume was 58±124 ml (p<0.05) higher in the 'straight' position compared to the 'bent' position. The mean difference in measured thoracic gas volume (bent-straight = -71±211 ml) was not statistically significant. Corrected body volume and percent body fat in the bent position consequently were on average 86±122 ml (p<0.05) and 0.5±0.7% (p<0.05) lower than in the straight position respectively. CONCLUSION Although the differences reached statistical significance, absolute differences are rather small. Subject positioning should be viewed as a factor that may contribute to between-test variability and hence contribute to (in)precision in detecting small individual changes in body composition, rather than a potential source of systematic bias. It therefore may be advisable to pay attention to standardizing subject positioning when tracking small changes in PF are of interest. The cause of the differences is shown not to be related to changes in the volume of isothermal air in the lungs. It is hypothesized and calculated that the observed direction and magnitude of these differences may arise from the surface area artifact which does not take into account that a subject in the bent position exposes more skin to the air in the device therefore potentially creating a larger underestimation of the actual body volume due to the isothermal effect of air close to the skin.