Comparison of Body Composition Estimates among Norland Elite®, Lunar iDXA®, and the BodPod® in Overweight to Obese Adults

Accurate body composition assessment, which includes fat mass (adipose tissue mass, FM), fat-free mass (FFM), and percent fat mass (%FM) is needed to evaluate health and treatment efficacy. The current study compared body composition estimates obtained from the Norland Elite (R) DXA, BodPod (R), and iDXA (R) before and after a12-week exercise intervention in adults (n=30, BMI 25-35 kg/m(2)) . Bland-Altman (R) methods determined mean bias and limits of agreement for FM, %FM, and FFM between methods. Compared to the iDXA (R) and BodPod (R), Elite (R) overestimated BF% and FM (P<.01). FFM was similar between iDXA (R) and Elite (R) but lower in Elite (R) than BodPod (R) (P<.01). There were no differences between methods in changes in FM or FFM after the exercise intervention. Prior to this study, it was unknown how the Norland Elite (R), a DXA model marketed to bariatric surgery patients, compared to other common body composition assessment methodologies..