Performance of Two Bioelectrical Impedance Analyses in the Diagnosis of Overweight and Obesity in Children and Adolescents: The FUPRECOL Study

Abstract

This study aimed to determine thresholds for percentage of body fat (BF%) corresponding to the cut-off values for overweight/obesity as recommended by the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF), using two bioelectrical impedance analyzers (BIA), and described the likelihood of increased cardiometabolic risk in our cohort defined by the IOTF and BF% status. Participants included 1165 children and adolescents (54.9% girls) from Bogotá (Colombia). Body mass index (BMI) was calculated from height and weight. BF% of each youth was assessed first using the Tanita BC-418® followed by a Tanita BF-689®. The sensitivity and specificity of both devices and their ability to correctly classify children as overweight/obesity (≥2 standard deviation), as defined by IOTF, was investigated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) by sex and age groups (9–11, 12–14, and 13–17 years old); Area under curve (AUC) values were also reported. For girls, the optimal BF% threshold for classifying into overweight/obesity was found to be between 25.2 and 28.5 (AUC = 0.91–0.97) and 23.9 to 26.6 (AUC = 0.90–0.99) for Tanita BC-418® and Tanita BF-689®, respectively. For boys, the optimal threshold was between 16.5 and 21.1 (AUC = 0.93–0.96) and 15.8 to 20.6 (AUC = 0.92–0.94) by Tanita BC-418® and Tanita BF-689®, respectively. All AUC values for ROC curves were statistically significant and there were no differences between AUC values measured by both BIA devices. The BF% values associated with the IOTF-recommended BMI cut-off for overweight/obesity may require age- and sex-specific threshold values in Colombian children and adolescents aged 9–17 years and could be used as a surrogate method to identify individuals at risk of excess adiposity.

Physical fitness components in relation to attention capacity in Latin American youth with overweight and obesity

“…The fat mass percentage was evaluated by means of bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) using the TANITA SC‐331 ® analyzer. To ensure data quality, the equipment was calibrated daily using a known calibration standard, in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions 20. Finally, fat mass index (FMI) was calculated (fat mass in kg/height in m 2 ).…”

Waist circumference and abdominal volume index are the strongest anthropometric discriminators of metabolic syndrome in Spanish adolescents

“…We determined BF% using bioelectrical impedance analyses (BIA) by whole‐body impedance (Tanita Model BC‐418®, Tokyo, Japan). Detailed information about the BIA technique has been provided in previous studies …”

Pubertal Stage, Body Mass Index, and Cardiometabolic Risk in Children and Adolescents in Bogotá, Colombia: The Cross-Sectional Fuprecol Study

“…To classify WC, we used criterion-referenced health-related cut-off points derived from de Ferranti et al [ 13 ] because of the large sample size, age-specificity, and relatively generalizable ethnicity. Body fat percentage was measured by bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) with a frequency current of 50 kHz using a tetrapolar BIA (Tanita ® Model BF689, Tokyo, Japan; TEM = 0.639) according to the protocol of Ramírez-Vélez et al [ 14 ]. The mean of the two readings taken in the morning under controlled temperature and humidity conditions, and after urination and a 15-min rest when the participants were shoeless and fasting, was used [ 15 ].…”