Quantification of visceral fat deposition: Comparison of conventional and local bioimpedancemetry in the abdominal region

The aim. Analysis of the relationships between local bioimpedance measurements and quantitative estimates of visceral fat deposition obtained by various indirect methods.

Material and methods. The program included measurement of anthropometric features and determination of body composition in traditional (octopolar for 770InBody and tetrapolar for ABC-02 Medas) and local schemes in the abdominal area (ABC-02 Medas). The 770InBody analyzer was used to determine the visceral fat area (VFA), and the ABC-02 Medas – for local impedances in the subcutaneous (Z_sc) and visceral (Z_visc) leads.

Results. A cross-sectional continuous study was conducted at the National Medical Research Center of Endocrinology of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation. A total of 48 people (38 women and 10 men) aged 24 to 74 years were examined using a single program. A comparative analysis of a set of features in the subgroups of men and women was carried out. Sexual dimorphism was not detected for the features characterizing visceral fat deposition (BF₁₀ <3.0). A positive dependence close to linear was observed between the features; the nature of the relationship in the subgroups of men and women did not differ. Correlation analysis revealed a strong relationship between local impedances and VFA (0.751 [0.594; 0.853] and 0.819 [0.697; 0.895]). Analysis in subgroups with different nutritional status revealed significant differences (p <0.001) for all the studied features. Subgroups with grade 1 and 2 obesity do not differ in all studied characteristics, whereas subgroups with underweight, normal body weight, and morbid obesity demonstrate significant differences.

Conclusion. The results of the conducted study allow us to conclude that local BIA leads in the abdominal region, obtained on a domestic analyzer, have a strong correlation with other signs characterizing visceral fat deposition (VFA, SAD, WC).

1. Mitsushio K, Baden MY, Kagisaki T, et al. Interrelationships Among Accumulations of Intra- and Periorgan Fats, Visceral Fat, and Subcutaneous Fat. Diabetes. 2024;73(7):1122-1126. doi:10.2337/db24-0035

2. Haidar A, Srikanthan P, Watson K, Allison M, Kronmal R, Horwich T. Associations Between Visceral Fat, Abdominal Muscle, and Coronary Artery Calcification: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis. Am J Cardiol. 2024;217:77-85. doi:10.1016/j.amjcard.2024.02.030

3. Bondareva EA, Parfenteva OI, Troshina EA, et al. Agreement between bioimpedance analysis and ultrasound scanning in body composition assessment. Am J Hum Biol. 2024;36(4):e24001. DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.24001.

4. Gordito Soler M, López-González ÁA, Vallejos D, et al. Usefulness of Body Fat and Visceral Fat Determined by Bioimpedanciometry versus Body Mass Index and Waist Circumference in Predicting Elevated Values of Different Risk Scales for Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease. Nutrients. 2024;16(13):2160. Published 2024 Jul 7. doi:10.3390/nu16132160

5. Scharfetter H, Schlager T, Stollberger R, et al. Assessing abdominal fatness with local bioimpedance analysis: basics and experimental findings. Int. J. Obes. Relat. Metab. Disord. 2001;25(4):502-511.

6. Ryo M, Maeda K, Onda T, et al. A new simple method for the measurement of visceral fat accumulation by bioelectrical impedance. Diabetes Care. 2005;28:451–3. doi: 10.2337/diacare.28.2.451

7. Sadeghi E, Khodadadiyan A, Hosseini SA, et al. Novel anthropometric indices for predicting type 2 diabetes mellitus. BMC Public Health. 2024;24(1):1033. DOI: 10.1186/s12889-024-18541-7.

8. Kelter, R. Bayesian alternatives to null hypothesis significance testing in biomedical research: a non-technical introduction to Bayesian inference with JASP. BMC Med Res Methodol.2020;20:142. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12874-020-00980-6

9. Börgeson, E., Tavajoh, S., Lange, S. et al. The challenges of assessing adiposity in a clinical setting. Nat Rev Endocrinol. 2024;20:615–626. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41574-024-01012-9

10. Polcrova A, Pavlovska I, Maranhao Neto GA, et al. Visceral fat area and cardiometabolic risk: The Kardiovize study. Obes Res Clin Pract. 2021;15(4):368-374. doi:10.1016/j.orcp.2021.03.005

11. Carvalho JB, de Andrade GKP, do Nascimento LA, et al. Visceral fat area measured by electrical bioimpedance as an aggravating factor of COVID-19: a study on body composition. BMC Infect Dis. 2023;23(1):826. Published 2023 Nov 24. doi:10.1186/s12879-023-08833-5

12. Agrawal S, Klarqvist MDR, Diamant N, et al. BMI-adjusted adipose tissue volumes exhibit depot-specific and divergent associations with cardiometabolic diseases. Nat Commun. 2023;14 (1):266. doi: 10.1038/s41467-022-35704-5.

13. Lee LC, Hsu PS, Hsieh KC, et al. Standing 8-Electrode Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis as an Alternative Method to Estimate Visceral Fat Area and Body Fat Mass in Athletes. Int J Gen Med. 2021;14:539-548. Published 2021 Feb 24. doi:10.2147/IJGM.S281418

14. Xu Z, Liu Y, Yan C, et al. Measurement of visceral fat and abdominal obesity by single-frequency bioelectrical impedance and CT: a cross-sectional study. BMJ Open. 2021;11(10):e048221. Published 2021 Oct 11. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2020-048221

15. Gažarová M, Lenártová P, Ondreičková M, Hačková L. The use of portable abdominal bioimpedance analyzer Yscope in the assessment of abdominal obesity. Rocz Panstw Zakl Hig. 2024;75(2):151-160. doi:10.32394/rpzh.2024.0301

16. Bondareva EA, Leonov GE, Parfenteva OI, et al. Association of local bioimpedance analysis of the abdominal region with morphological and biochemical traits. Bulletin of RSMU. 2024;(4):52–9. DOI: 10.24075/brsmu.2024.030