Total and regional body volumes derived from dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry output
Abstract
Total body volume is an important health metric used to measure body density, shape, and multicompartmental body composition but is currently only available through underwater weighing or air displacement plethysmography (ADP). The objective of this investigation was to derive an accurate body volume from dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA)-reported measures for advanced body composition models. Volunteers received a whole body DXA scan and an ADP measure at baseline (N = 25) and 6 mo (N = 22). Baseline measures were used to calibrate body volume from the reported DXA masses of fat, lean, and bone mineral content. A second population (N = 385) from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey was used to estimate the test-retest precision of regional (arms, legs, head, and trunk) and total body volumes. Overall, we found that DXA-volume was highly correlated to ADP-volume (R² = 0.99). The 6-mo change in total DXA-volume was highly correlated to change in ADP-volume (R² = 0.98). The root mean square percent coefficient of variation precision of DXA-volume measures ranged from 1.1% (total) to 3.2% (head). We conclude that the DXA-volume method can measure body volume accurately and precisely, can be used in body composition models, could be an independent health indicator, and is useful as a prospective or retrospective biomarker of body composition.
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DXA can be used to calculate total body volumes.
“For example, DXA can be used to calculate total body volumes (Wilson et al., 2013), a potentially useful application for examining disease risk associated with certain body phenotypes such as those with a high trunk to leg volume ratios.”
From Myosteatosis in the Context of Skeletal Muscle Function Deficit: An Interdisciplinary Workshop at the National Institute on Aging (2020) · cites this paper as Wilson et al., 2013
High trunk to leg volume has a strong association with diabetes and mortality independent of fat distribution even among those with normal BMI.
“High trunk to leg volume has a strong association with both diabetes and mortality that is independent of fat distribution even among those with a normal BMI (Wilson et al., 2013).”
From Myosteatosis in the Context of Skeletal Muscle Function Deficit: An Interdisciplinary Workshop at the National Institute on Aging (2020) · cites this paper as Wilson et al., 2013
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- Authors
- Wilson, J. P., Fan, B., & Shepherd, J. A.
- Affiliations
- University of California, San Francisco (US)
- Corresponding author
- Shepherd, John A.
- Venue
- Journal of Clinical Densitometry
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2013-07
- Volume
- 16
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 368-373
- ISSN
- 1094-6950 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2143239817
- Cited by
- 39
- References
- 28
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 4 · 2016: 2 · 2015: 2 · 2014: 2 · 2013: 3
- FWCI
- 2.08
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Clinical Densitometry (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Body Composition Measurement Techniques
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Orthopedics and Sports Medicine › Bone health and osteoporosis research
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Emergency Medicine › HIV-related health complications and treatments
- Keywords
- body volume, dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, air displacement plethysmography, body composition, body density, body shape, biomarkers, NHANES
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Body Composition, Female, Humans, Male, Obesity, Plethysmography, Impedance, Retrospective Studies, Absorptiometry, Photon, Bone Density
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