A new air displacement plethysmograph for the determination of Japanese body composition

Abstract

A new device based on the plethysmographic measurement of body volume, named the BOD POD Body Composition System, was developed for the purpose of estimating body composition. The performance, reliability, validity, and clinical application of this system were evaluated in Japanese subjects. The coefficient variation (CV:%) in same‐day tests was 2.48, in three separate‐day tests it was 2.27, and for independent operators it was 4.53, respectively. There was a clear correlation between the results from BOD POD and those from dual energy X‐ray absorptiometry (DEXA) (r = 0.910, p < 0.01). Finally, the fat body composition of 4489 subjects (1499 men, 2990 women) was clinically measured by BOD POD. The findings indicate that the BOD POD is a highly reliable and valid method for determining body fat percentage. This new method has several advantages, e.g. it is quick, simple to operate and may accommodate wide populations.