title: Body composition of sedentary and physically active spinal cord injured individuals estimated from total body electrical conductivity.
abstract: Reliability and evidence of construct validity of Total Body Electrical Conductivity (TOBEC) for estimating body composition in spinal cord injured subjects was evaluated using 17 males with C6-L2 spinal cord transections. Subjects reporting regular exercise were categorized as active (n = 12); nonexercisers were considered sedentary (n = 5). Measures included body weight, length, circumferences, skinfolds, and three TOBEC readings. Reliability for percent fat of both single and multiple TOBEC trials (t = 3) ranged from .994 to .999. Average percent fat values were significantly (p < .009) higher in sedentary subjects. Sum of seven skinfolds was significantly correlated (r[15] = 0.73, p < .01) with percent fat measured by TOBEC. Results suggest TOBEC is reliable (rtt > 0.99) in estimating body composition in spinal cord injured individuals. High reliability estimates for single and multiple trials indicate use of a single trial will provide reliable body fat estimates. Construct validity evidence infers that TOBEC measured body composition discriminates between active and sedentary paraplegics.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics (Section of Nutrition & GI), Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX.
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Olle
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Pivarnik
authors.forename: W J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Klish
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Morrow
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001823:Body Composition; D004594:Electrophysiology; D015444:Exercise; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012885:Skinfold Thickness; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000145:classification / Q000503:physiopathology*