Food and fluid intake and hydration status does not affect ultrasound measurements of subcutaneous adipose tissue in active adults

To investigate the impact of acute food and fluid intake or hydration status on the standardised brightness-mode ultrasound measurement of subcutaneous adipose tissue thickness. Thirty active adults (female n = 10) participated in a randomised cross over study. Participants completed three body composition assessment sessions via standardised brightness-mode ultrasound and Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Participants were assessed under standardised presentation during ‘food only’ and ‘food plus water’ sessions at baseline and reassessed after their allotted intake. ‘Hypohydration plus water’ was undertaken in a hypohydrated state at baseline and reassessed after water intake. The sum of eight subcutaneous adipose tissue thickness was lower when measured after ‘food only’ or ‘food plus water’ compared to baseline (−0.1 to −0.9 mm; p