Evaluation Technologies: Bioimpedance, Plicometry and DEXA

Plicometers and skinfold interpretation

To overcome the severe limitations of conventional scales, sports laboratories employ anthropometric measurements focused on pinching localized adiposity.

Using metal calipers or plicometers, testers pinch the tissue lying directly under the dermis in strategic areas such as the tricipital area, the umbilical perimeter or the thigh region.

By entering the millimeter measurements of these folds into complex predictive equations that take into account the sex and age of the individual, a fairly accurate x-ray of their fat percentage is obtained.

However, this methodological approach carries with it a margin of human error; the accuracy of the report rests entirely on the technical expertise and perseverance of the analyst in charge.

Sensitivity to hydration on bioelectrical impedance

Commercial training venues overwhelmingly opt for bioelectrical impedance platforms because of their amazing immediacy.

This mechanism projects an imperceptible electrical wave from the metatarsals to the palms, measuring the speed at which current crosses the body.

Since lean muscle is packed with water and salts, it conducts electricity masterfully; body fat, on the other hand, fiercely resists the flow.

Although the concept is brilliant, these scales are extremely vulnerable to the water status of the moment.

If a lifter positions himself on the electrodes with a mild dehydration condition, the device will misinterpret the resistance, punitively overestimating his true adipose layer.

Clinical accuracy with X-rays (DEXA) and hydrostatic weighing

When clinical research demands unquestionable accuracy, dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, universally referred to as DEXA scanning, is called upon.

This monstrous medical machine irradiates the subject to mathematically segment skeletal density, muscle fraction and adipose volume, boasting a tiny margin of error of almost zero.

Similarly, hydrostatic immersion assessment plunges the patient into aquatic tanks, calculating fat using the physical laws of buoyancy and water displacement.

Both technologies are the absolute elite of compositional analysis, usually reserved for scientific trials due to their immense operational complexity and high monetary cost.

Abstract

Measurement using manual anth