Validation of the \u27Bottle Buoyancy\u27 Model for Body Composition Assessment

A majority of the apparatuses that are available to accurately assess body composition are both time consuming and costly, such as DEXA, Hydrostatic weighing (HW), and the Bod Pod (BP). Several apparatuses exist for measuring body composition that are cost-effective and efficient, such as the caliper skin fold (CSF) and the bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA). However, these devices lack accuracy, validity, and reliability. There are few validated, reliable apparatuses that are cost-effective and efficient to accurately assess body composition. The Bottle Buoyancy (BB) model, first presented by Katch et al. (1989), is a means of measuring body density through Archimedes’ principle of water displacement using the HW equation. The scientific examination of the BB model accuracy is very limited. This study aims to build a proper technical protocol from the previously-conducted studies to accurately assess body composition in athletes using the BB model. This study also aims to compare the accuracy, reliability and validity of the BB body composition assessment to the body composition models (i.e. BP, BIA, and HW) that have been thoroughly analyzed throughout the literature thus far. Six subjects (3 males, 3 females) were tested through multiple trials to assess the BB technique using a 12.150 L (3 gal) Culligan® container. Each subject’s body composition was initially assessed using HW, BP, and BIA measurements. These measurements were used to validate the BB model’s accuracy in measuring estimated body fat percentage. The HW equation was used to calculate the estimated body fat percentage of the BB model. Data analysis was used to validate the accuracy of the BB model to the HW, BP, and BIA. The investigator expects that results will show consistency between measurements. Patterns in measurements will emphasize the importance of following proper protocol techniques