A height-weight formula to measure body fat in childhood obesity.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The assessment of body composition is central in diagnosis and treatment of paediatric obesity, but a criterion method is not feasible in clinical practice. Even the use of bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) is limited in children. Body mass index (BMI) Z-score is frequently used as a proxy index of body composition, but it does not discriminate between fat mass and fat-free mass. We aimed to assess the extent to which fat mass and percentage of body fat estimated by a height-weight equation agreed with a BIA equation in youths with obesity from South Italy. Furthermore, we investigated the correlation between BMI Z-score and fat mass or percentage of body mass estimated by these two models.

Methods

One-hundred-seventy-four youths with obesity (52.3% males, me

SUBMITTER: Licenziati MR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9210685 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature