Abstract
Introduction. Obesity is a chronic and dangerous health condition in today’s population that predisposes millions of people to serious health disorders and premature death (Racette, Duesinger, & Deusinger, 2003). In the United States, the prevalence of overweight and obese individuals remains a serious public health problem, as more than one third of adults and 17% of youth in the United States are obese (Ogden, Carroll, Kit, & Flegal, 2014). This major public health challenge requires the need for implementation of assessment tools and interventions in order to aid in the prevention and treatment of obesity. Several body fat assessment tools exist with varying levels of reliability. It is necessary to assess diagnostic ultrasound as tool for the assessment of body fat in the clinical setting. Purpose. The purpose of this study was to determine if a difference exists in the intra-rater reliability of diagnostic ultrasound between males and females when measuring subcutaneous adipose tissue. Current literature supports that diagnostic ultrasound can be used to provide accurate and reliable measurements of subcutaneous adipose tissue (Bazzochi et al., 2011; Kopinski, Engel, Carlsohn, Cassel, & Mayer, 2014; Leahy et al., 2012; Pineau et al., 2009; Schlecht et al., 2014; Toomey, McCreesh, Leahy, & Jakeman, 2011; Wagner, 2013). Research pertaining to the intra-rater reliability of diagnostic ultrasound is limited and minimal research has been conducted regarding reliability between genders. Methods. Fifty participants were recruited to participate in this research study, including 25 males and 25 females. Participants had two anatomical sites (abdomen for both genders, thigh for males, and calf for females) measured for subcutaneous adipose tissue based on a previous study (Leahy et al., 2012) and measurements were made according to ISAK skinfold sites (Marfell-Jones et al., 2006). Each site was measured three consecutive times to assess intra-rater reliability of diagnostic ultrasound to accurately measure subcutaneous adipose tissue. Age, gender, height, weight, and ethnicity were collected from each participant for further analysis of factors that may influence reliability. Each participant was given an estimated body fat percentage based on the measurements taken according to prediction equations used by Leahy et al. (2012) and the participant was given his or her body composition classification according to ACSM classification. The collected data were analyzed with intra-class correlation for intra-rater reliability. Results. The results of this study indicate high intra-rater reliability when using diagnostic ultrasound to measure subcutaneous adipose tissues in both males and females. The results demonstrate a slightly higher ICC in males than in females when using the combined sites ICC, implying that when using diagnostic ultrasound to measure subcutaneous adipose tissue the intra-rater reliability will be greater in males than in females. The results also demonstrate a higher reliability when measuring the abdomen in females compared to males. A higher reliability was demonstrated at the calf site in females compared to the anterior thigh site in males. The results of this study indicate that the combined use of the two sites in males measured have a higher intra-rater reliability compared to individual sites measured. In females, the abdominal site demonstrated higher reliability than the calf site and was equal to the reliability of both sites combined. Conclusion. The use of diagnostic ultrasound in the measurement of subcutaneous adipose tissue demonstrated excellent intra-rater reliability for males and females. This research further supports the use of diagnostic ultrasound as an effective tool for the measurement of subcutaneous adipose tissue. In conclusion, diagnostic ultrasound has the potential to serve as a quick, safe, and reliable diagnostic tool for assessing the amount of subcutaneous adipose tissue of an individual, regardless of gender. Further research regarding the reliability of the measurement of subcutaneous adipose tissue in overweight and obese individuals is necessary in order to validate the use of diagnostic ultrasound as an accurate and reliable tool for the prevention and treatment of obesity in the clinical setting.