Accuracy of Body Mass Index Cutoffs for Classifying Obesity in Chilean Children and Adolescents

Rossana Gómez-Campos, Raquel David Langer, Roseane De Fátima Guimarães, Mariana Contiero San Martini, Marco Cossio-Bolaños, Miguel De Arruda, Gil Guerra-Júnior and Ezequiel Moreira Gonçalves
Additional contact information
Rossana Gómez-Campos: Instituto de Actividad Física y Salud, Universidad Autonoma de Chile, 5 Poniente 1670, Talca, Chile
Raquel David Langer: Growth and Development Lab, Center for Investigation in Pediatrics (CIPED), School of Medical Sciences, University of Campinas (UNICAMP), CEP 13083-887, Campinas-SP, Brazil
Roseane De Fátima Guimarães: Growth and Development Lab, Center for Investigation in Pediatrics (CIPED), School of Medical Sciences, University of Campinas (UNICAMP), CEP 13083-887, Campinas-SP, Brazil
Mariana Contiero San Martini: Growth and Development Lab, Center for Investigation in Pediatrics (CIPED), School of Medical Sciences, University of Campinas (UNICAMP), CEP 13083-887, Campinas-SP, Brazil
Marco Cossio-Bolaños: Faculty of Physical Education, State University of Campinas, Avenida Érico Veríssimo, 701, Cidade Universitária Zeferino Vaz, Barão Geraldo, CEP 13083-851, Campinas, Brazil
Miguel De Arruda: Faculty of Physical Education, State University of Campinas, Avenida Érico Veríssimo, 701, Cidade Universitária Zeferino Vaz, Barão Geraldo, CEP 13083-851, Campinas, Brazil
Gil Guerra-Júnior: Growth and Development Lab, Center for Investigation in Pediatrics (CIPED), School of Medical Sciences, University of Campinas (UNICAMP), CEP 13083-887, Campinas-SP, Brazil
Ezequiel Moreira Gonçalves: Growth and Development Lab, Center for Investigation in Pediatrics (CIPED), School of Medical Sciences, University of Campinas (UNICAMP), CEP 13083-887, Campinas-SP, Brazil

IJERPH, 2016, vol. 13, issue 5, 1-9

Abstract: Objective : To determine the accuracy of two international Body Mass Index (BMI) cut-offs for classifying obesity compared to the percentage of fat mass (%FM) assessed by Dual-Energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DXA) in a Chilean sample of children and adolescents; Material and Methods : The subjects studied included 280 children and adolescents (125 girls and 155 boys) aged 8 to 17 years. Weight and height were measured. The BMI was calculated. Two international references (IOFT and WHO) were used as cut-off points. The %FM was assessed by DXA. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to assess the performance of BMI in detecting obesity on the basis of %FM; Results : A high correlation was observed between the %FM measured by the DXA and the Z-scores of IOTF and WHO scores in the Chilean adolescents separated by sex ( r = 0.78–0.80). Differences occurred in both references (IOFT and WHO) in relation to the criteria ( p < 0.001). Both references demonstrated a good ability to predict sensitivity (between 84% and 93%) and specificity (between 83% and 88%) in both sexes of children and adolescents; Conclusions : A high correlation was observed between the Z-score of the BMI with the percentage of fat determined by the DXA. Despite this, the classifications using the different BMI cut-off points showed discrepancies. This suggests that the cut-off points selected to predict obesity in this sample should be viewed with caution.

Keywords: Body Mass Index; obesity; DXA; cut-off points; Chile (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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