Document Type
Article
Source of Publication
Frontiers in Nutrition
Publication Date
1-9-2026
Abstract
Introduction: Obesity is a significant health issue in the UAE. Accurate body composition assessment is crucial for managing obesity-related health risks. This study aimed to evaluate the agreement between bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) in measuring body composition among Emirati females. Methods: This cross-sectional study involved 95 healthy Emirati females aged 17–27 years. Paired samples t-tests, correlation analyses, and Bland-Altman plots were used to compare the two methods (BIA vs. DXA). Results: BIA significantly underestimated % fat and fat mass (FM) while overestimating fat-free mass (FFM) compared to DXA. The mean difference in % fat was −14.1% (p < 0.001), and the mean difference in FFM was +8.2 kg (p < 0.001). Despite strong correlations between BIA and DXA measurements (r = 0.855 for % fat, r = 0.984 for FM, and r = 0.929 for FFM), Bland-Altman plots indicated poor agreement, with wide limits of agreement. Conclusion: Bioelectrical impedance analysis remains valuable for obesity assessment in large-scale studies and clinical settings due to its non-invasive, easy-to-use, and cost-effective characteristics. The results show that the in-built prediction equations cannot adequately predict the % fat, FM, and FFM for this sample. Future research should focus on developing and validating BIA-specific equations tailored for Emiratis.
DOI Link
ISSN
Publisher
Frontiers Media SA
Volume
12
Disciplines
Medicine and Health Sciences
Keywords
BIA, body composition, DXA, Emirati, females
Scopus ID
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Haroun, Dalia and Ehsanallah, Aseel, "Assessment of body fat percentage in Emirati females: a comparative analysis of BIA vs. DXA" (2026). All Works. 7919.
https://zuscholars.zu.ac.ae/works/7919
Indexed in Scopus
yes
Open Access
yes
Open Access Type
Gold: This publication is openly available in an open access journal/series