● DEXA
○ Safe
○ New “gold standard”
● Bioelectrical impedance BIA
○ Electrical current run through the body
○ Poor conductor compared to lean tissue
○ Leg to leg = limited accuracy
○ assumptions/error
■ Must fast 2-8 hours and measures must be taken within 30 minutes of
voiding
■ Perspiration, skin lotion, and elevated metabolism changes the accuracy
● Error: 2.7% (2-3% if very well trained)
● Body fat distribution
○ Matters less how much body fat you have, matters more where the body fat is
○ Computed tomography
■ Excellent in research on fat distribution
○ Body wants to eliminate visceral fat first, which is nice of it, but your chiseled
body will probably disappear until your body creates subcutaneous fat
○ Regional adiposity
■ Gynoid “pear” — good; android “apple” — bad
