The Tanita SC-240 to Assess Body Composition in Pre-School Children: An Evaluation against the Three Component Model

• Quick, easy-to-use, and valid body composition measurement options for young children are needed. Therefore, we evaluated the ability of the bioelectrical impedance (BIA) device, Tanita SC-240, to measure fat mass (FM), fat free mass (FFM) and body fatness (BF%) in 40 healthy, Swedish 5.5 years old children against the three component model (3C model). Average BF%, FM, and FFM for BIA were: 19.4% +/- 3.9%, 4.1 +/- 1.9 kg, and 16.4 +/- 2.4 kg and were all significantly different (p amp;lt; 0.001) from corresponding values for the 3C model (25.1% +/- 5.5%, 5.3 +/- 2.5 kg, and 15.2 +/- 2.0 kg). Bland and Altman plots had wide limits of agreement for all body composition variables. Significant correlations ranging from 0.81 to 0.96 (p amp;lt; 0.001) were found for BF%, FM, and FFM between BIA and the 3C model. When dividing the children into tertiles for BF%, 60% of children were classified correctly by means of BIA. In conclusion, the Tanita SC-240 underestimated BF% in comparison to the 3C model and had wide limits of agreement. Further work is needed in order to find accurate and easy-to-use methods for assessing body composition in pre-school children.

Ämnesord

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Klinisk medicin -- Pediatrik (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Clinical Medicine -- Pediatrics (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Tanita SC-240; bioelectrical impedance; three component model; pre-school

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