Bioelectrical Impedance Changes of the Trunk Are Opposite the Limbs Following Acute Hydration Change

This study aimed to evaluate the changes in impedance and estimates of body composition variables obtained from segmental multi-frequency bioelectrical impedance analysis (SMFBIA) following acute hydration change. All participants (N = 11 active adults) had SMFBIA measurements at baseline (euhydration), post-dehydration, and post-hyperhydration in an experimental repeated-measures design. Dehydration and hyperhydration trials were randomized with the opposite treatment given 24 h later. Dehydration was achieved via a heat chamber of 40 °C and 60% relative humidity. Hyperhydration was achieved by drinking lightly-salted water (30 mmol·L NaCl; 1.76 g NaCl·L) within 30 min. Post-measurements were taken 30 min after each treatment. Despite changes in mass post-dehydration (Δ = -2.0%, p < 0.001) and post-hyperhydration (Δ = 1.2%, p < 0.001), SMFBIA estimates of total body water (TBW) did not change significantly across trials (p = 0.507), leading to significant differences (p < 0.001) in SMFBIA-estimates of body fat percentage across trials. Dehydration resulted in a significant (p < 0.001) 8% decrease in limb impedances at both 20 kHz and 100 kHz. Hyperhydration increased limb impedances only slightly (1.5%, p > 0.05). Impedance changes in the trunk followed an opposite pattern of the limbs. SMFBIA failed to track acute changes in TBW. Divergent impedance changes suggest the trunk is influenced by fluid volume, but the limbs are influenced by ion concentration.