Abstract
Summary Background & aims Normal weight obesity (NWO) has been defined as an excessive body fat (BF) associated with a normal body mass index (BMI). Still, little is known regarding the effect of differing cut-offs for %BF on the prevalence of NWO. We thus conducted a study to assess the effect of modifying the cut-offs for excessive %BF on the prevalence of NWO. Methods We examined a convenience sample of 1523 Portuguese adults. BF was measured by validated hand-held bioimpedance. NWO was defined as a BMI 30% or according to sex- and age-specific %BF cut-offs. Results Prevalence of NWO was 10.1% in women and 3.2% in men. In women, prevalence of NWO increased considerably with age, and virtually all women aged over 55 with a BMI Conclusions In women, the prevalence of NWO varies considerably according to the cut-off used to define excess BF, whereas a much smaller variation is found in men. While further studies are needed to describe the risk associated with NWO using various %BF cut-offs, this study suggests that sex- and age-specific cut-offs may be preferred.
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Schedule a callMore From: e-SPEN, the European e-Journal of Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism
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