Reference percentiles for bioimpedance body composition parameters of healthy individuals: A cross-sectional study
Open accessAbstract
The aim of this study was to estimate the percentage distribution of body composition parameters for healthy people at different ages from the assessment of electrical bioimpedance. A cross-sectional study of healthy Brazilian aged 5 years and older. Were evaluated: total body fat; percent body fat; fat-free mass; percent lean mass; fat mass index; and fat-free mass index. Of 1240 participants, with a median age of 27.0 years, 52.5% were female, and 73.7% were Caucasian. Most of the body composition variables were associated with age. The fat-free mass increased from youth to adult and decreased in the elderly in both sexes, with higher values in males than in females. In males, the percentage of lean mass has higher values in adolescence compared to childhood, and in adults compared to the elderly, when analyzed from the 50th percentile. In women, fat-free mass compared to adulthood, values were higher in childhood and lower in older ages. The study is the first to describe the Brazilian reference values for most clinical parameters of bioimpedance in percentiles stratified by different life cycles and sex. These findings can be very useful in clinical practice for health promotion and monitoring the nutritional status of the individual.
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Various studies including those providing reference data based on BIA do not disclose the procedures used.
“A further question is that various studies including those providing reference data based on BIA do not disclose the procedures used [24, 28].”
From High-standard predictive equations for estimating body composition using bioelectrical impedance analysis: a systematic review (2024) · cites this paper as [28]
The cited paper provides BIA reference data, but its Methods > Data measurements section discloses the measurement procedures, including the device, electrode placement, participant positioning, fasting instructions, and repeated measurements (page not available). It therefore contradicts the claim if cited as an example of a reference-data study that does not disclose its procedures. (LLM, conf=0.87)
Checked by a reasoning model — may be wrong.
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredMany of these studies merely mention the type of software employed, making it impossible to discern which formulas were used to convert raw bioelectrical parameters into components of body mass.
“Many of these studies merely mention the type of software employed, making it impossible to discern which formulas were used to convert raw bioelectrical parameters into components of body mass.”
From High-standard predictive equations for estimating body composition using bioelectrical impedance analysis: a systematic review (2024) · cites this paper as [28]
The Background discusses earlier bioimpedance reference studies by age range and population, but does not assess how they reported software or conversion formulas. The Methods describe this paper’s own instrument and calculated indexes; searches for software reporting and prediction equations found no passage supporting the claim about other studies. (LLM, conf=0.70)
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- Authors
- Amaral, M. A., Mundstock, E., Scarpatto, C. H., Cañon-Montañez, W., & Mattiello, R.
- Affiliations
- Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul (BR)
- Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (BR)
- Corresponding author
- Mattiello, Rita
- Venue
- Clinics
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2022-01
- Volume
- 77
- Pages
- 100078
- ISSN
- 1807-5932 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC9464854
- OpenAlex
- W4295449276
- Cited by
- 14
- References
- 40
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 6
- FWCI
- 1.70
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Clinics (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) (publishedVersion)
- Greater South Information System
- Funders
- Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior ((Code 001))
- Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico
- Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul (Code 001)
- Fonds de recherche du Québec – Nature et technologies
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Body Composition Measurement Techniques
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Nutrition and Health in Aging
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Obesity, Physical Activity, Diet
- Keywords
- body composition, bioimpedance, reference percentiles, fat-free mass, lean body mass, body fat percentage, fat mass index, fat-free mass index, age-related changes, sex differences, life cycle, Brazilian population, nutritional monitoring
- MeSH terms
- Adipose Tissue, Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Body Composition, Cross-Sectional Studies, Female, Humans, Male, Nutritional Status, Body Mass Index
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