ABSTRACT
Anthropometric measurements are commonly used for the clinical assessment of nutritional status and obesity. There are significant associations between anthropometric measurements and direct “gold standard” measures of total and regional body fat; however, the strength of the association varies across indicators. Body mass index (BMI) is recommended for screening for obesity in children and adults; nevertheless, care should be used when interpreting BMI in clinical settings. Given issues related to normal growth and maturation, relationships among anthropometric indicators and gold standard measures of body fat are more complex in children than in adults. Among children, age- and sex-specific reference data have been developed to account for expected differences due to growth. A wide range of anthropometric indicators (measurements and indices) are associated with body fat in large samples. Waist circumference is a significant predictor of abdominal visceral adipose tissue (VAT) and is typically a stronger predictor than other anthropometric indicators. However, waist circumference explains ~50% of the variance in VAT and is more highly correlated with total fatness. Care should be taken when using waist circumference to make inferences about abdominal VAT levels. In general, anthropometric indicators are more highly associated with total adiposity than with body fat in specific body depots.
