A comparison of the agreement, internal consistency, and 2-day test stability of the InBody 720, GE iDXA, and BOD POD® gold standard for assessing body composition

The study compared the agreement, internal consistency, and measurement stability of the GE iDXA, BOD POD, and InBody 720. Body composition of 43 men and 37 women (31.4 +/- 10.7 years; 90% Caucasian and 10% other) was assessed in triplicate using each method over two different days. Mean percent body fat (% BF) of the participants was different for all three machines (27.6 +/- 10.0% [GE iDXA)] 25.6 +/- 10.4% [BOD POD], and 21.3 +/- 10.6% [InBody 720]; p<.05). The coefficient of variation for same day repeated measures was 1.06% (GE iDXA), 3.29% (BOD POD), and 2.97%(InBody 720). The coefficient of variation for 2-day repeated measures was 1.81% (GE iDXA), 4.61% (BOD POD), and 4.24% (InBody 720). The difference between the GE iDXA and BOD POD was within acceptable variability, while the InBody 720 significantly underestimated % BF. The internal consistency was highest for the GE iDXA, followed by the InBody 720, and then the BOD POD.