VALIDITY OF NAVY CIRCUMFERENCE BODY FAT EQUATION IN WOMEN OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN, ASIAN, HISPANIC, AND FILIPINA DESCENT

Abstract

Purpose: Currently, the Navy and Air Force use circumference equations for women that predict body fat from height and the log10 sum of neck, waist, and hip circumferences. These equations were developed on Caucasian subjects using a two-compartment body fat technique as the criterion measure. Therefore, it was deemed necessary to validate the Navy's circumference equations in other ethnicites using a four-compartment body composition model as the criterion. METHODS: One hundred sixty-five women (41 Caucasian (C), 41 African-American (A-A), 41 Hispanic (H), 20 Asian (A) 19 Filipina (F), and 3 Pacific Islander (PI) volunteered for the study. All subjects gave informed consent. Anthropometry, DXA, bioimpedance, residual volume, and hydrostatic weighing were all done on the same day with subjects in a fasted state. RESULTS: There were no differences in abdominal or neck circumferences, BMI, waist-to-hip ratio, or body fat among the different racial groups. Filipinas had significantly smaller hip circumferences than A-A and C. Four-compartment body fat (4-C fat) averaged 29.2 ± 7.0% overall (C = 28.6 ± 6.6; A-A = 30.3 ± 7.2; H = 30.1 ± 7.7; A = 28.9 ± 5.9; F = 27.3 ± 6.3; PI = 22.7 ± 7.2). Navy circumference body fat (Navfat) averaged 30.3 ± 6.5% overall (C = 30.4 ± 6.5; A-A = 31.0 ± 6.5; H = 30.7 ± 7.5; A = 29.3 ± 5.8; F = 29.3 ± 5.9; PI = 26.1 ± 3.0). MANOVA analysis, using 4-C fat as the dependent variable, showed no significant race by method interaction, indicating no difference by race in the prediction of 4-C fat by Navfat. CONCLUSION: The Navy's circumference body fat equation is valid for African-American, Asian, Hispanic, and Filipina women. There were too few women of Pacific Island descent in the current sample to draw firm conclusions on the validity of the equation in this group.