| Summary: | The main objective of this paper was to determine the utility of various anthropometric measures to assess total
and regional body fatness using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) as the criterion in 454 adolescent boys
and girls aged 12-19 years. Multivariable regression analyses of gender-specific and gender-combined models
were used to determine anthropometric measures on DXA-derived body fatness models, after adjusting for
known confounding biological factors. Partial correlation analyses, after adjusting for age, pubertal growth status
and ethnicity in boys and girls, showed that body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), waist-to-hip ratio
(WHR), and waist-height ratio (WhtR) were significantly correlated with total body fat (TBF), percent body
fat (%BF), android region fat (ARF) and trunk fat (TF) (all p<0.0001). BMI was the greatest independent determinant,
contributing 43.8%-80.9% of the total variance for DXA-derived body fatness models. Results confirmed
that a simple anthropometric index such as the BMI is a good surrogate indicator of body fat levels in Malay and
Chinese adolescents.
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