Effects of Body Hair on College-Age Males on Body Composition Measurements by BOD POD

Scott Murr; Alex Hultstrom

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ajss.20210902.13

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Effects of Body Hair on College-Age Males on Body Composition Measurements by BOD POD

Scott Murr, Alex Hultstrom

Published in American Journal of Sports Science (Volume 9, Issue 2)

Received: 21 May 2021 Accepted: 7 June 2021 Published: 15 June 2021

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Abstract

Body composition measurements by BOD POD account for the effects of trapped isothermal air in hair on the scalp by having the subject wear a swim cap to compress the hair on the head. However, there are no recommendations that account for the effects of trapped isothermal air in hair elsewhere on the body. The purpose of this investigation was to examine the effect of body hair on body composition measurements by BOD POD. To assess the impact of body hair on body composition measurements, BOD POD measurements were performed in two conditions: wearing single layer compression shorts (CS) apparel with a swim cap (recommended by manufacturer) and wearing single layer limb length compression (LC) apparel with the same swim cap. The order of apparel was conducted in random order to avoid any potential order effect. Fifty male college-age males (age 19.96 ± 1.32 years) volunteered to participate in this study. Body density and percent body fat were calculated from BOD POD measurements of body mass and body volume. Wearing single layer limb length compression apparel to compress body hair increased body mass by an average of 0.67 lb. (±0.05). Compared to wearing only compression shorts, covering exposed body hair resulted in a reduction in body volume measures; thus, body density was calculated as higher in the LC apparel condition. The mean percentage of body fat in the LC condition (13.99 ± 6.64%) was significantly lower than the mean percentage of body fat in the CS condition (16.76 ± 6.27%, p < 0.001). The results of this investigation demonstrate that covering exposed body hair by wearing single layer limb-length compression apparel can result in significantly different measurements of percent body fat in college-age males. These findings indicate that air displacement plethysmography for males while wearing limb-length compression apparel resulted in a lower assessment of body fat by an average of 2.77 percent. Based on the findings of this investigation, body hair needs to be accounted for when percent body fat is being assessed by BOD POD.

Published in	American Journal of Sports Science (Volume 9, Issue 2)
DOI	10.11648/j.ajss.20210902.13
Page(s)	43-50
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Bod Pod, Air Displacement Plethysmography, Percent Body Fat, Isothermal Air, Hair, Compression Apparel

References

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Scott Murr, Alex Hultstrom. (2021). Effects of Body Hair on College-Age Males on Body Composition Measurements by BOD POD. American Journal of Sports Science, 9(2), 43-50. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajss.20210902.13

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ACS Style

Scott Murr; Alex Hultstrom. Effects of Body Hair on College-Age Males on Body Composition Measurements by BOD POD. Am. J. Sports Sci. 2021, 9(2), 43-50. doi: 10.11648/j.ajss.20210902.13

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AMA Style

Scott Murr, Alex Hultstrom. Effects of Body Hair on College-Age Males on Body Composition Measurements by BOD POD. Am J Sports Sci. 2021;9(2):43-50. doi: 10.11648/j.ajss.20210902.13

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@article{10.11648/j.ajss.20210902.13,
  author = {Scott Murr and Alex Hultstrom},
  title = {Effects of Body Hair on College-Age Males on Body Composition Measurements by BOD POD},
  journal = {American Journal of Sports Science},
  volume = {9},
  number = {2},
  pages = {43-50},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ajss.20210902.13},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajss.20210902.13},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajss.20210902.13},
  abstract = {Body composition measurements by BOD POD account for the effects of trapped isothermal air in hair on the scalp by having the subject wear a swim cap to compress the hair on the head. However, there are no recommendations that account for the effects of trapped isothermal air in hair elsewhere on the body. The purpose of this investigation was to examine the effect of body hair on body composition measurements by BOD POD. To assess the impact of body hair on body composition measurements, BOD POD measurements were performed in two conditions: wearing single layer compression shorts (CS) apparel with a swim cap (recommended by manufacturer) and wearing single layer limb length compression (LC) apparel with the same swim cap. The order of apparel was conducted in random order to avoid any potential order effect. Fifty male college-age males (age 19.96 ± 1.32 years) volunteered to participate in this study. Body density and percent body fat were calculated from BOD POD measurements of body mass and body volume. Wearing single layer limb length compression apparel to compress body hair increased body mass by an average of 0.67 lb. (±0.05). Compared to wearing only compression shorts, covering exposed body hair resulted in a reduction in body volume measures; thus, body density was calculated as higher in the LC apparel condition. The mean percentage of body fat in the LC condition (13.99 ± 6.64%) was significantly lower than the mean percentage of body fat in the CS condition (16.76 ± 6.27%, p < 0.001). The results of this investigation demonstrate that covering exposed body hair by wearing single layer limb-length compression apparel can result in significantly different measurements of percent body fat in college-age males. These findings indicate that air displacement plethysmography for males while wearing limb-length compression apparel resulted in a lower assessment of body fat by an average of 2.77 percent. Based on the findings of this investigation, body hair needs to be accounted for when percent body fat is being assessed by BOD POD.},
 year = {2021}
}

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TY - JOUR
T1 - Effects of Body Hair on College-Age Males on Body Composition Measurements by BOD POD
AU - Scott Murr
AU - Alex Hultstrom
Y1 - 2021/06/15
PY - 2021
N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajss.20210902.13
DO - 10.11648/j.ajss.20210902.13
T2 - American Journal of Sports Science
JF - American Journal of Sports Science
JO - American Journal of Sports Science
SP - 43
EP - 50
PB - Science Publishing Group
SN - 2330-8540
UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajss.20210902.13
AB - Body composition measurements by BOD POD account for the effects of trapped isothermal air in hair on the scalp by having the subject wear a swim cap to compress the hair on the head. However, there are no recommendations that account for the effects of trapped isothermal air in hair elsewhere on the body. The purpose of this investigation was to examine the effect of body hair on body composition measurements by BOD POD. To assess the impact of body hair on body composition measurements, BOD POD measurements were performed in two conditions: wearing single layer compression shorts (CS) apparel with a swim cap (recommended by manufacturer) and wearing single layer limb length compression (LC) apparel with the same swim cap. The order of apparel was conducted in random order to avoid any potential order effect. Fifty male college-age males (age 19.96 ± 1.32 years) volunteered to participate in this study. Body density and percent body fat were calculated from BOD POD measurements of body mass and body volume. Wearing single layer limb length compression apparel to compress body hair increased body mass by an average of 0.67 lb. (±0.05). Compared to wearing only compression shorts, covering exposed body hair resulted in a reduction in body volume measures; thus, body density was calculated as higher in the LC apparel condition. The mean percentage of body fat in the LC condition (13.99 ± 6.64%) was significantly lower than the mean percentage of body fat in the CS condition (16.76 ± 6.27%, p < 0.001). The results of this investigation demonstrate that covering exposed body hair by wearing single layer limb-length compression apparel can result in significantly different measurements of percent body fat in college-age males. These findings indicate that air displacement plethysmography for males while wearing limb-length compression apparel resulted in a lower assessment of body fat by an average of 2.77 percent. Based on the findings of this investigation, body hair needs to be accounted for when percent body fat is being assessed by BOD POD.
VL - 9
IS - 2
ER -

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Author Information

Scott Murr

Health Sciences Department, Furman University, Greenville, USA
Alex Hultstrom

Health Sciences Department, Furman University, Greenville, USA

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Scott Murr, Alex Hultstrom. (2021). Effects of Body Hair on College-Age Males on Body Composition Measurements by BOD POD. American Journal of Sports Science, 9(2), 43-50. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajss.20210902.13

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ACS Style

Scott Murr; Alex Hultstrom. Effects of Body Hair on College-Age Males on Body Composition Measurements by BOD POD. Am. J. Sports Sci. 2021, 9(2), 43-50. doi: 10.11648/j.ajss.20210902.13

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AMA Style

Scott Murr, Alex Hultstrom. Effects of Body Hair on College-Age Males on Body Composition Measurements by BOD POD. Am J Sports Sci. 2021;9(2):43-50. doi: 10.11648/j.ajss.20210902.13

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@article{10.11648/j.ajss.20210902.13,
  author = {Scott Murr and Alex Hultstrom},
  title = {Effects of Body Hair on College-Age Males on Body Composition Measurements by BOD POD},
  journal = {American Journal of Sports Science},
  volume = {9},
  number = {2},
  pages = {43-50},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ajss.20210902.13},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajss.20210902.13},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajss.20210902.13},
  abstract = {Body composition measurements by BOD POD account for the effects of trapped isothermal air in hair on the scalp by having the subject wear a swim cap to compress the hair on the head. However, there are no recommendations that account for the effects of trapped isothermal air in hair elsewhere on the body. The purpose of this investigation was to examine the effect of body hair on body composition measurements by BOD POD. To assess the impact of body hair on body composition measurements, BOD POD measurements were performed in two conditions: wearing single layer compression shorts (CS) apparel with a swim cap (recommended by manufacturer) and wearing single layer limb length compression (LC) apparel with the same swim cap. The order of apparel was conducted in random order to avoid any potential order effect. Fifty male college-age males (age 19.96 ± 1.32 years) volunteered to participate in this study. Body density and percent body fat were calculated from BOD POD measurements of body mass and body volume. Wearing single layer limb length compression apparel to compress body hair increased body mass by an average of 0.67 lb. (±0.05). Compared to wearing only compression shorts, covering exposed body hair resulted in a reduction in body volume measures; thus, body density was calculated as higher in the LC apparel condition. The mean percentage of body fat in the LC condition (13.99 ± 6.64%) was significantly lower than the mean percentage of body fat in the CS condition (16.76 ± 6.27%, p < 0.001). The results of this investigation demonstrate that covering exposed body hair by wearing single layer limb-length compression apparel can result in significantly different measurements of percent body fat in college-age males. These findings indicate that air displacement plethysmography for males while wearing limb-length compression apparel resulted in a lower assessment of body fat by an average of 2.77 percent. Based on the findings of this investigation, body hair needs to be accounted for when percent body fat is being assessed by BOD POD.},
 year = {2021}
}

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