JACN Did you know that you can get alerts when a new issue is online?
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Moreno, L. A.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Moreno, L. A.
Journal of the American College of Nutrition, Vol. 25, No. 5, 403-408 (2006)
Published by the American College of Nutrition

Screening Performances of the International Obesity Task Force Body Mass Index Cut-Off Values in Adolescents

Luis A. Moreno, MD, PhD, María G. Blay, MD, Gerardo Rodríguez, MD, PhD, Vicente A. Blay, MD, PhD, María I. Mesana, MD, José L. Olivares, MD, PhD, Jesús Fleta, MD, PhD, Antonio Sarría, MD, PhD, Manuel Bueno, MD, PhD and AVENA-Zaragoza Study Group

Department of Pediatrics, University School of Health Sciences, University of Zaragoza (L.A.M., G.R., M.I.M., J.L.O., J.F., A.S., M.B.)
Endocrinology Unit, Military Hospital of Zaragoza (M.G.B., V.A.B.), Zaragoza, SPAIN

Address reprint requests to: Luis A. Moreno, MD, PhD, E.U. Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de Zaragoza, Domingo Miral s/n, 50009 Zaragoza, SPAIN. E-mail: lmoreno{at}unizar.es

Objective: To try to improve the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) BMI cut-off values, in terms of prediction of body fat percentage assessed by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), in adolescents.

Methods: Cross-sectional survey of the adolescents from the city of Zaragoza (Spain). For this analysis we have included 286 adolescents (116 boys and 170 girls) aged 13.0–17.9 years. Body mass index (BMI) was calculated as body weight (kg), divided by height (m) squared. The percentage of body fat (BF%) was estimated by the use of DXA.

Results: We have calculated, new BMI cut-off values (AVENA cut-offs) to predict BF%, for boys and girls in each age group. In male adolescents, sensitivity was higher with the IOTF cut-offs (0.71, 95th C.I.: 0.44, 0.90) than with the AVENA ones (0.53, 95th C.I.: 0.28, 0.77), and specificity was very similar with both cut-off values (0.86 and 0.88, respectively), the differences being not statistically significant. In girls, both sensitivities (0.75 and 0.79, respectively) and specificities (0.90 and 0.92, respectively) were very similar with both cut-off values, and the differences, not significant.

Conclusions: Optimization of the IOTF BMI cut-off values, in terms of BF%, seems not to be possible in adolescents. The IOTF criteria should be used only for overweight and obesity screening; however, in clinical settings, a more accurate measure of body fat should be recommended.

Key words: adolescence, body composition, diagnostic tests, reference method






HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 2006 by the American College of Nutrition.