The Concordance Between the Clínica Universidad de Navarra Body Adiposity Estimator and a Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis in Assessing the Body Fat of Athletes

An equation-derived body fat estimator, namely the Clínica Universidad de Navarra Body Adiposity Estimator (CUN-BAE), was established to assess the body fat percentage in adults. However, its efficiency compared to that of the bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) approach remains under-researched....

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Main Authors: Marius Baranauskas, Ingrida Kupčiūnaitė, Jurgita Lieponienė, Rimantas Stukas
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-02-01
Series:Applied Sciences
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/4/2197
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author Marius Baranauskas
Ingrida Kupčiūnaitė
Jurgita Lieponienė
Rimantas Stukas
author_facet Marius Baranauskas
Ingrida Kupčiūnaitė
Jurgita Lieponienė
Rimantas Stukas
author_sort Marius Baranauskas
collection DOAJ
description An equation-derived body fat estimator, namely the Clínica Universidad de Navarra Body Adiposity Estimator (CUN-BAE), was established to assess the body fat percentage in adults. However, its efficiency compared to that of the bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) approach remains under-researched. This study aimed to assess the agreement between the body fat percentages measured using a BIA and estimated using the CUN-BAE in a sample of Lithuanian professional athletes. A single cross-sectional study was conducted using the BIA technique to measure and the CUN-BAE equation to calculate the body fat percentages of 323 study participants. The Bland–Altman plot system was applied to comparing both the body fat percentages estimated using the CUN-BAE equation and those obtained via the BIA approach. The average values of the body fat percentages found in the total sample of elite athletes and estimated using the BIA and CUN-BAE equaled 18.4 ± 5.3% and 18.7 ± 6.6%, respectively (ICC: 0.91; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.88; 0.93). This study found that the CUN-BAE method overestimated the BIA’s calculation of the body fat percentages by 2.7% on average. Meanwhile, the comparison of adiposity in the athletes using the CUN-BAE equation and the BIA methods demonstrated a similar, although not identical, accuracy. The BIA method cannot be replaced by the CUN-BAE equation in routine sports medicine practice due to moderately sized limits of agreement (95% CI: −6.5; 7.1), even when the access to body fat measurement devices is limited. From a public health perspective, the outcomes derived from the CUN-BAE equation can possibly be extrapolated to females and to individuals competing in strength–power sports, as well as to populations of adults.
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spelling doaj-art-4e43eee158d34607a2e1e57c4bdf5a652025-08-20T02:44:59ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172025-02-01154219710.3390/app15042197The Concordance Between the Clínica Universidad de Navarra Body Adiposity Estimator and a Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis in Assessing the Body Fat of AthletesMarius Baranauskas0Ingrida Kupčiūnaitė1Jurgita Lieponienė2Rimantas Stukas3Faculty of Biomedical Sciences, State Higher Education Institution Panevėžys College, 35200 Panevėžys, LithuaniaFaculty of Biomedical Sciences, State Higher Education Institution Panevėžys College, 35200 Panevėžys, LithuaniaFaculty of Biomedical Sciences, State Higher Education Institution Panevėžys College, 35200 Panevėžys, LithuaniaDepartment of Public Health, Institute of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius University, 01513 Vilnius, LithuaniaAn equation-derived body fat estimator, namely the Clínica Universidad de Navarra Body Adiposity Estimator (CUN-BAE), was established to assess the body fat percentage in adults. However, its efficiency compared to that of the bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) approach remains under-researched. This study aimed to assess the agreement between the body fat percentages measured using a BIA and estimated using the CUN-BAE in a sample of Lithuanian professional athletes. A single cross-sectional study was conducted using the BIA technique to measure and the CUN-BAE equation to calculate the body fat percentages of 323 study participants. The Bland–Altman plot system was applied to comparing both the body fat percentages estimated using the CUN-BAE equation and those obtained via the BIA approach. The average values of the body fat percentages found in the total sample of elite athletes and estimated using the BIA and CUN-BAE equaled 18.4 ± 5.3% and 18.7 ± 6.6%, respectively (ICC: 0.91; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.88; 0.93). This study found that the CUN-BAE method overestimated the BIA’s calculation of the body fat percentages by 2.7% on average. Meanwhile, the comparison of adiposity in the athletes using the CUN-BAE equation and the BIA methods demonstrated a similar, although not identical, accuracy. The BIA method cannot be replaced by the CUN-BAE equation in routine sports medicine practice due to moderately sized limits of agreement (95% CI: −6.5; 7.1), even when the access to body fat measurement devices is limited. From a public health perspective, the outcomes derived from the CUN-BAE equation can possibly be extrapolated to females and to individuals competing in strength–power sports, as well as to populations of adults.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/4/2197adiposityathletesbioelectrical impedance analysisbody compositionbody fat percentagebody adiposity estimator
spellingShingle Marius Baranauskas
Ingrida Kupčiūnaitė
Jurgita Lieponienė
Rimantas Stukas
The Concordance Between the Clínica Universidad de Navarra Body Adiposity Estimator and a Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis in Assessing the Body Fat of Athletes
Applied Sciences
adiposity
athletes
bioelectrical impedance analysis
body composition
body fat percentage
body adiposity estimator
title The Concordance Between the Clínica Universidad de Navarra Body Adiposity Estimator and a Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis in Assessing the Body Fat of Athletes
title_full The Concordance Between the Clínica Universidad de Navarra Body Adiposity Estimator and a Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis in Assessing the Body Fat of Athletes
title_fullStr The Concordance Between the Clínica Universidad de Navarra Body Adiposity Estimator and a Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis in Assessing the Body Fat of Athletes
title_full_unstemmed The Concordance Between the Clínica Universidad de Navarra Body Adiposity Estimator and a Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis in Assessing the Body Fat of Athletes
title_short The Concordance Between the Clínica Universidad de Navarra Body Adiposity Estimator and a Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis in Assessing the Body Fat of Athletes
title_sort concordance between the clinica universidad de navarra body adiposity estimator and a bioelectrical impedance analysis in assessing the body fat of athletes
topic adiposity
athletes
bioelectrical impedance analysis
body composition
body fat percentage
body adiposity estimator
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/4/2197
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