Evaluation of the BAI using ADP in African American Females

Abstract

ABSTRACT Objectives The aim of this study was to determine the agreement between body adiposity index (BAI) and body fat percentage using air displacement plethysmography (ADP) in African American females. Methods Seventy-two African American females (28.9 ± 10.2 yr) participated in the study. Pearson’s correlation coefficients were calculated to determine the relationships among waist circumference, hip circumference (HC), BAI, body mass index (BMI), and %BFADP. Bland–Altman plots were generated to analyze agreement between BAI and %BFADP. Results BAI and BMI were highly correlated with each other and %BFADP. BAI was more accurate in African American females within the normal BMI category but underestimated more in overweight and obese categories. However, the number of false-negative results when evaluating obesity was the same for BAI and BMI within this sample, which suggests their value as a clinical tool may be similar. HC was correlated with %BFADP. However, waist circumference correlated stronger than HC in the obese group. Conclusion The strong correlations of BAI and BMI to body fat percent were similar to previous studies in other races/ethnicities and methods. BAI underestimates body fat percent more with increasing levels of adiposity possibly because of the accumulation of fat in areas not captured by an HC measure.