Abstract

ROMAN, Estela María; ABALLAY, Laura Rosana; DIPIERRI, José Edgardo  and  ALFARO, Emma Laura. Correlation and concordance between body mass index and body fat in adolescents residing at different altitude levels. Rev Arg Antrop Biol [online]. 2022, vol.24, n.1, 048.  Epub Jan 01, 2022. ISSN 1514-7991.  http://dx.doi.org/10.24215/18536387e048.

Objective: to evaluate the percentage of body fat (%BF) in adolescents from Jujuy, Argentina, with anthropometry and bioimpedance (Bio), and contrast the results with the body mass index (BMI), considering the altitude level in which the adolescents studied reside. Methods: An observational, cross-sectional, descriptive study was carried out in 540 adolescents (218 men; 322 women), from public schools in different regions of Jujuy. Weight, height, skinfold thickness and %BF Bio were measured. BMI and %BF were calculated with two equations (Siri and Slaughter). The data were grouped by sex, age (10-14; 15-18 years) and region of origin (highlands ≥2.000 m.a.s.l.; lowlands <2.000 m.a.s.l.). The correlation between BMI and % BF obtained with different methods, and the agreement of these categorized variables were analyzed. Results: Regardless of region and sex, with the three methods BMI and adiposity showed significant correlations: considerable in males (rho between 0.553-0.738) and in women from highlands, with Slaughter (rho between 0.553-0.752); very strong in women from lowlands, with the three methods, and from highlands, with Bio and Siri (rho between 0.785-0.873). In both sexes and regions, the concordances between nutritional status (BMI) and adiposity evaluated with the three methods were generally low (k between 0.047-0.510) and significant. Conclusion: BMI might be a good indicator for nutritional screening at population level, regardless of the altitude of the place of residence. However, at an individual level it seems necessary to complement it with adiposity assessment methods.

Keywords : nutritional status; adiposity; altitude.

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