Assessment of human body conditioning monitoring systems

• Main Author: Lim, Daphne Li Ting
• Other Authors: Yeo Swee Hock
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2015
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering::Mechanical engineering
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/64843
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Body fats are components that are essential for human physiology. While human cannot survive without fats, excessive or unbalanced fats level can be an onset to diseases. Body Mass Index (BMI) is a commonly used gauge for whether a person is healthy. However BMI is not comprehensive enough to relate to composition of human body. The density of bones, muscles and fluids in a human body can affect a person’s weight. Thus methods that allow measurement that can obtain more informative quantities are necessary. Safe and accurate non-invasive methods of body fats measurement are preferred. There are various methods of measurement discussed in this study. This study will investigate the accuracy of commercialized machines and how representative it is to the population. It concludes the validity and reliability of measurements and its results. It will further determine which brand (Omron or Tanita) is of higher accuracy. In this study, we will investigate the methods whole-body air displacement plethysmography and Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis. Through comparison with BodPod, the accuracy of a commercial application, Omron HBF 375 body composition monitor and Tanita BC418 will be evaluated. All 25 subjects will undergo a once off measurement using BodPod, Tanita and Omron in one sitting. Conditions such as environment, subjects’ clothing, and procedures are exactly the same. This is to ensure the accuracy of the results.