Comparison of estimation accuracy of body density between different hydrostatics weighing methods without head submersion

Abstract

This study compared the accuracy of body density (Db) estimation methods using hydrostatic weighing without complete head submersion (HW(withoutHS)) of Donnelly et al. (1988) and Donnelly and Sintek (1984) as referenced to Goldman and Buskirk's approach (1961). Donnelly et al.'s method estimates Db from a regression equation using HW(withoutHS), moreover, Donnelly and Sintek's method estimates it from HW(withoutHS) and head anthropometric variables. Fifteen Japanese males (173.8+/-4.5 cm, 63.6+/-5.4 kg, 21.2+/-2.8 years) and fifteen females (161.4+/-5.4 cm, 53.8+/-4.8 kg, 21.0+/-1.4 years) participated in this study. All the subjects were measured for head length, width and HWs under the two conditions of with and without head submersion. In order to examine the consistency of estimation values of Db, the correlation coefficients between the estimation values and the reference (Goldman and Buskirk, 1961) were calculated. The standard errors of estimation (SEE) were calculated by regression analysis using a reference value as a dependent variable and estimation values as independent variables. In addition, the systematic errors of two estimation methods were investigated by the Bland-Altman technique (Bland and Altman, 1986). In the estimation, Donnelly and Sintek's equation showed a high relationship with the reference (r=0.960, p<0.01), but had more differences from the reference compared with Donnelly et al.'s equation. Further studies are needed to develop new prediction equations for Japanese considering sex and individual differences in head anthropometry.