Samsung Bioimpedance System Evaluation Study
Overview
Bioimpedance analysis (BIA) systems are increasingly used in research, clinical, and home settings. This completed study evaluated novel Samsung BIA devices — operating through a wrist-worn smartwatch — that estimate percent body fat and body composition.
Samsung collaborated with Pennington Biomedical Research Center (PBRC) and the University of Hawaiʻi Cancer Center to validate the accuracy of these devices.
Hypothesis. Novel Samsung bioimpedance analysis devices will demonstrate accuracy comparable to dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) measurements and other BIA systems for measuring body composition.
Aims
- Identify associations between body composition measured by Samsung BIA devices and estimates from DXA and other BIA systems
- Describe the precision and accuracy of BIA-derived body-composition estimates
Subjects completed Samsung BIA, DXA, anthropometric, and other BIA testing at PBRC or UHCC.
Research team
- Steven B. Heymsfield, MD — Principal Investigator
- John A. Shepherd, PhD — Principal Investigator
Funding
Samsung · 2021.
Key publication
Bennett JP, et al. Next-generation smartwatches to estimate whole-body composition using bioimpedance analysis: accuracy and precision in a diverse multiethnic sample. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2022. DOI: 10.1093/ajcn/nqac200
The study evaluated 75 participants and found that, after systematic correction, smartwatch BIA devices are capable of stable, reliable, and accurate body composition — with precision comparable but lower than laboratory measures.