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Updated: May 11, 2026
Assessment of Child Anthropometry in a Large Epidemiologic Study
Published on: February 2, 2017
A method comparison study to validate a novel parameter of obesity, the body adiposity index, in Chinese subjects
Benjamin Chih Chiang Lam1, Su Chi Lim, Michael Tack Keong Wong
1Department of Family and Community Medicine, Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, Singapore.
Objective:
A recently developed parameter, the body adiposity index (BAI)-a composite index based on hip circumference and height-estimates the percentage (%) body adiposity indirectly. The BAI was compared with dual energy X-ray absorptiometer (DEXA)-derived % adiposity to validate the BAI in the local Chinese population.
Design And Methods:
105 Chinese were recruited and % adiposity estimated by BAI was compared with that derived from DEXA using the Bland Altman plot. A correlation study comparing the BAI with body mass index (BMI) was also done.
Results:
BAI underestimated DEXA-derived % adiposity by a mean of 5.77% with 95% limits of agreement of ±8.4%. When stratified by gender, BMI correlated with DEXA-derived % adiposity better than BAI (r = 0.81 vs. 0.74 for males, P = 0.088, and r = 0.87 vs. 0.82 for females, P = 0.087). Hip circumference and waist circumference also correlated better with the BMI than BAI (r = 0.94 vs. 0.71 for hip circumference, P < 0.001, and r = 0.93 vs. 0.50 for waist circumference, P < 0.001, respectively).
Conclusions:
The BAI underestimates DEXA-derived % adiposity in a Chinese population in Singapore and is unlikely to be a better overall index of adiposity than the established BMI.
