Exploration of a variation of the bottle buoyancy technique for the assessment of body composition

Hydrostatic weighing has long been recognized as a reliable and valid method for the assessment of body composition. An alternative method known as bottle buoyancy (BB) was introduced by Katch, Hortobagyi, and Denahan in 1989. The purpose of this clinical investigation was to determine the accuracy...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of strength and conditioning research 2003-05, Vol.17 (2), p.245-249
Main Authors: Gulick, Dawn T, Geigle, Paula Richley
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Analysis of Variance
Body Composition - physiology
Body Weight
Densitometry
Female
Humans
Hydrostatic Pressure
Immersion
Male
Probability
Sampling Studies
Sensitivity and Specificity
Sex Factors
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Summary:Hydrostatic weighing has long been recognized as a reliable and valid method for the assessment of body composition. An alternative method known as bottle buoyancy (BB) was introduced by Katch, Hortobagyi, and Denahan in 1989. The purpose of this clinical investigation was to determine the accuracy of the BB technique using an 11-L container. Sixteen individuals (8 men, 8 women) were weighed hydrostatically using a chair/scale and the BB technique. The overall intraclass correlation coefficient for the two techniques was 0.9537. A 2-variable ANOVA was significant for gender but not for technique, and there was no interaction between variables. Thus, the BB technique appears to be an accurate substitute for the chair/scale technique for hydrostatic weighing. The BB method does not involve elaborate equipment and is portable. It could be improved with the use of multiple bottles of various volumes or a calibrated bottle to minimize the number of trials needed for accurate measurements. BB is a valuable, simple clinical tool for assessing body composition based on the principles of hydrostatic weighing and can be performed in any high school, college, or community swimming pool.
ISSN:1064-8011
DOI:10.1519/00124278-200305000-00005