Relationship of body mass index with adiposity indices of university students from the Peruvian highlands; [Relación del índice de masa corporal con índices de adiposidad de estudiantes universitarios del altiplano peruano]

Abstract

Introduction: The Peruvian highlands, a high-altitude geographic region that presents peculiar environmental, socioeconomic conditions and food environments, which could influence the adiposity levels of the university student population. Therefore, determining excess weight with additional indicators to the Body Mass Index would help to improve the diagnostic criteria. For this reason, the use of the waist/height index, conicity and abdominal perimeter would be good complementary references to evaluate the degree of adiposity. Objective: To evaluate the relationship between body mass index and abdominal perimeter, waist/height index and taper. Material and methods: Study with a quantitative, observational, and cross-sectional approach. The sample was made up of 191 students from the National University of the Altiplano from the areas of engineering, biomedical and social sciences. To determine the degree of adiposity, the participants' weight, height, and abdominal perimeter measurements were used, which were obtained using a scale, a stadiometer and anthropometric tape. For data analysis, the Pearson and Spearman correlation coefficient was used to examine the possible association between the variables. Results: Abdominal perimeter and waist/height ratio have a high correlation with the body mass index, and average strength with the conicity index. On the other hand, the levels of correlation are higher in men than in women. The prevalence of excess weight according to the body mass index was 28% and 38% according to waist/height, with a higher proportion in students in social sciences. Conclusions: The correlation of the body mass index is strong with the waist/height index and abdominal perimeter, it is suggested to consider the use of these adiposity indicators together, since variability was observed in the prevalence of excess weight. © 2024 Sociedad espanola de dietetica. All rights reserved.