Article

The purposes of this study were to assess the accuracy of clinical
measures for predicting adiposity when compared with a criterion standard of body
fat percentage measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry and to determine the
most appropriate cut points for classifying obesity for each measure in
adolescents with physical disability. DESIGN: Body mass index, triceps skinfolds,
and waist, arm, and leg circumferences were collected on 29 adolescents aged
14-17 yrs with spinal cord injury, cerebral palsy, or spina bifida. Percentage of
body fat was measured using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Multiple linear
regression models were used to assess the ability of measures to predict
percentage of body fat. Receiver operating characteristic curves were used to
identify optimal cut points for each measure. RESULTS: Although all clinical
measures correlated with body fat as measured by dual-energy X-ray
absorptiometry, current cut points are not adequate in this group. Using a body
mass index of 20 kg/m (boys) and 19 kg/m (girls) was optimal but still
misclassified a significant number of participants as nonobese in this group.
Using the optimal cut points for waist circumference, which were 83 cm (boys) and
78 cm (girls), was the best predictor. CONCLUSIONS: Body mass index, triceps
skinfolds, and waist, leg, and arm circumferences are valid measures for
estimating obesity in adolescents with physical disability, but further research
is needed to validate disability-specific cut points.

Langue : ANGLAIS