Abstract

Background Body Mass Index (BMI) is an easily measurable indicator of body fat and with low cost. However, as an indicator of risk of development of chronic diseases in the elderly, it has limitations, as it does not reflect mainly the regional distribution of fat that occurs with the aging process. As an alternative to BMI, the Body Adiposity Index (BAI) has been proposed. This index showed a high correlation with the measurement of body fat in adults indicating that it could replace BMI. However, BAI is still understudied in the elderly. Objective To determine factors associated with adiposity in elderly people, according to sex and in accordance with two anthropometric indices, Body Mass Index (BMI) and Body Adiposity Index (BAI). Methods We used cross-sectional data from 532 participants (261 women, aged 60 to 94 years) who were randomly recruited from Viçosa, Minas Gerais, and Brazil. Adiposity was defined using Body Mass Index (weight (kg)/height (m)2) and Body Adiposity Index (hip circumference (cm)/height (m)1.5) - 18). The associations between the two indexes (BMI and BAI) and factors associated with adiposity (socio-demographic variables, lifestyle characteristics, health status, waist circumference and functional capacity) were explored using linear regression. Results In men, with the exception of age and alcohol, the variables associated with BMI were also associated with the BAI. In women, we observed that the same variables were associated with BMI and BAI. However, the coefficient of determination of the final models of multiple linear regressions was higher for BMI. Conclusion The BAI was worse than BMI when evaluated the factors associated with adiposity in elderly people.

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