ReviewNutrients2021
Come Back Skinfolds, All Is Forgiven: A Narrative Review of the Efficacy of Common Body Composition Methods in Applied Sports Practice.
Review in Nutrients, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 76 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
76 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Pooled it
- Body fat of competitive volleyball players: a systematic review with meta-analysis.Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition · 2023Pooled it
- Body Composition of Male Professional Soccer Players Using Different Measurement Methods: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Nutrients · 2023Pooled it
- A Systematic Review on Fitness Testing in Adult Male Basketball Players: Tests Adopted, Characteristics Reported and Recommendations for Practice.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2022Pooled it
- Body Fat of Basketball Players: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Sports medicine - open · 2022Pooled it
- Trial
- Agreement and repeatability between manual anthropometry and mobile 3D digital anthropometry in young adults.Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition · 2026Article
- Beyond the Limits of Human Muscle Hypertrophy: A Case Study of a Mr. Olympia Competitor Bodybuilder.Journal of strength and conditioning research · 2026Article
- What is measured and what is estimated in body composition? A clarification framework for terminology and interpretation.Reviews in endocrine & metabolic disorders · 2026Review
- Bioimpedance: From Body Composition Assessment to Emerging Technologies in Clinical Nutrition.Nutrients · 2026Review
- Clinical Assessment of Obesity Beyond Body Mass Index: Adiposity Evaluation, Body-Composition Phenotyping and Disease Staging: A Narrative Review.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Preoperative Prediction of Submental Liposuction Volume Using Outpatient-Accessible Measures: A Single-Center Pilot Study Employing the Syringe Technique.Aesthetic plastic surgery · 2026Observational
- Comparison of Anthropometric Equations to Estimate Body Composition in Chilean Male Adolescent Soccer Players.Journal of functional morphology and kinesiology · 2026Article
- Skinfolds Measurement Protocols and Standards: A Narrative Review.Advances in nutrition (Bethesda, Md.) · 2026Review
- Examining intra- and inter-tester reliability of post-scan dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry regional body composition analysis in athletes.European journal of clinical nutrition · 2026Article
- Agreement Between Standing Eight-Point Multifrequency Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis and Dual-Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry for Body Composition Assessment in Apparently Healthy Greek Adults.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Beyond the Disc: Positional Differences in Morphological and Physical Performance Characteristics Among Male Ultimate Frisbee Players.Journal of functional morphology and kinesiology · 2026Article
- Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry per cent fat Z-score as a predictor of menstrual status in adolescent and young adult female athletes.British journal of sports medicine · 2026Article
- Evaluating the Reliability and Validity of Predictive Anthropometric Equations for Estimating Fat Mass, Lean Mass and the Role of Maturity Offset in Lean Mass Prediction Within Professional, Academy Soccer Players from the United Kingdom.Sports (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- WHtR-BFP dual-dimensional synergy: innovative construction of a nine-grid model for precision obesity management.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Article
16 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Whilst the assessment of body composition is routine practice in sport, there remains considerable debate on the best tools available, with the chosen technique often based upon convenience rather than understanding the method and its limitations. The aim of this manuscript was threefold: (1) provide an overview of the common methodologies used within sport to measure body composition, specifically hydro-densitometry, air displacement plethysmography, bioelectrical impedance analysis and spectroscopy, ultra-sound, three-dimensional scanning, dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and skinfold thickness; (2) compare the efficacy of what are widely believed to be the most accurate (DXA) and practical (skinfold thickness) assessment tools and (3) provide a framework to help select the most appropriate assessment in applied sports practice including insights from the authors' experiences working in elite sport. Traditionally, skinfold thickness has been the most popular method of body composition but the use of DXA has increased in recent years, with a wide held belief that it is the criterion standard. When bone mineral content needs to be assessed, and/or when it is necessary to take limb-specific estimations of fat and fat-free mass, then DXA appears to be the preferred method, although it is crucial to be aware of the logistical constraints required to produce reliable data, including controlling food intake, prior exercise and hydration status. However, given the need for simplicity and after considering the evidence across all assessment methods, skinfolds appear to be the least affected by day-to-day variability, leading to the conclusion 'come back skinfolds, all is forgiven'.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.