Assessing Body Fat in Obesity: Clinic and Home Monitoring Using a Portable Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis Device.

INTRODUCTION

With the rising burden of obesity in India, accurate assessment of body and visceral fat has become essential for risk stratification and monitoring treatment response, both in clinics and at home. Bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) offers a practical alternative to advanced imaging-based methods such as dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which, while precise, are expensive and not widely accessible. Among BIA devices, the InBody 770 is regarded as a clinical reference standard, but its high cost and large size restrict routine use. Portable and affordable BIA devices provide a potential solution, but their accuracy requires validation against established methods.

PATIENTS AND

METHODS

This cross-sectional study was conducted at the Fatty Liver and Obesity Clinic, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi, which manages patients with obesity, diabetes, and related metabolic disorders, including metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD). A total of 343 consecutive adults underwent body and visceral fat measurement using both the portable Omron HBF-702T and the InBody 770 devices. Agreement between the two devices was assessed using Pearson correlation coefficients and Bland-Altman plots, with subgroup analyses by gender and body mass index (BMI).

RESULTS

The mean age of participants was 45 years, and 76.7% were male. Omron demonstrated excellent correlation with InBody 770 for total body fat percentage (r = 0.91). Subgroup analysis showed consistently high correlations in males (r = 0.87) and in patients with BMI ≥30 (r = 0.90). For visceral fat, Omron showed a good overall correlation (r = 0.73) but weaker performance in females (r = 0.68) and patients with BMI <30 (r = 0.40).

CONCLUSION

The portable BIA device Omron HBF-702T provides reliable estimates of total body fat, comparable to the InBody 770, in individuals with obesity and diabetes. Visceral fat estimation shows variability in certain subgroups, particularly females and those with lower BMI. Despite these limitations, the Omron remains a practical and affordable tool for routine monitoring in both clinics and homes, especially relevant in the era of lifestyle interventions and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1)-based therapies.