Body adiposity index performance in estimating body fat in a sample of severely obese Brazilian patients

Abstract

Background/objectives: The body adiposity index (BAI) estimates the amount of body fat (BF) in humans. In Mexican-American and African-American populations, BAI has performed better than body mass index (BMI). The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of BAI in estimating percentage (BF%) in severely obese Brazilian patients, with air displacement plethysmography (ADP) used as the reference method. Subjects/methods: Estimation of BF% by ADP, anthropometric measurements (height, abdominal and hip circumferences, body weight, and BMI) and BAI calculation were performed in 72 obese subjects.