A Multidomain Approach to Assessing the Convergent and Concurrent Validity of a Mobile Application When Compared to Conventional Methods of Determining Body Composition

Determining body composition via mobile application may circumvent limitations of conventional methods. However, the accuracy of many technologies remains unknown. This investigation assessed the convergent and concurrent validity of a mobile application (LS) that employs 2-dimensional digital photography (LS2D) and 3-dimensional photonic scanning (LS3D). Measures of body composition including circumferences, waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), and body fat percentage (BF%) were obtained from 240 healthy adults using LS and a diverse set of conventional methods-Gulick tape, bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA), and skinfolds. Convergent validity was consistently high-indicating these methods vary proportionally and can thus reliably detect changes despite individual measurement differences. The span of the Limits of Agreement (LoA) using LS were comparable to the LoA between conventional methods. LS3D exhibited high agreement relative to Gulick tape in the measurement of WHR, despite poor agreement with individual waist and hip circumferences. In BF%, LS2D exhibited high agreement with BIA and skinfold methods, whereas LS3D demonstrated low agreement. Interestingly, the low inferred bias between LS3D and DXA using existing data suggests that LS3D may have high agreement with dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry. Overall, the suitability of LS2D and LS3D to replace conventional methods must be based on an individual user's criteria.