AGREEMENT BETWEEN BIOELECTRICAL IMPEDANCE AND SKINFOLD MEASUREMENT TO DETERMINE BODY COMPOSITION IN ADOLESCENTS

Abstract

Objective: To compare the prevalence of overweight in adolescents based on the percentage of fat through the skinfold method (SFM) and bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA), and to investigate whether there is an agreement between these methods. Material and Methods: A total of 254 adolescents aged between 12 and 17 years from public schools in Rio do Sul, SC, participated in this study. The percentage of subcutaneous body fat (%F) was estimated by the indirect method of SFM and BIA. Based on the method proposed by Slaughter et al (1988), the skinfold measurements used were triceps and medial leg. The BIA was estimated using Plenna scale with 100g precision and 0.1% Fat percent. The classification of the F % of adolescents followed the proposal of Euro Fit test. We performed descriptive statistics, and employed Pearson’s correlation and chi-square tests, with p-value<0.05. Results: The average values of %F for SFM and BIA were 20.09% and 14.47% for boys and 28.04% and 22.58% for girls, respectively, with a significant differences (t= 3.144, p<0.000). There was a higher prevalence of overweight in girls. As to the classification of overweight by BIA compared to SFM, a low percentage was found for both sexes. Moderate correlations were observed between SFM and BIA for boys (r = 0.733) and girls (r = 0.726); when adjusted, the correlations were found to be approximately 50%. Conclusion: The bioelectrical impedance analysis can estimate low amounts of body fat in overweight subjects, especially in females. DESCRIPTORS Anthropometry. Prevalence. Overweight.