Skinfolds as prognosticators of nutritional status among adult undernourished males of India

The objective of this work is to utilize skinfold thicknesses taken at various sites as indicators to infer the nutritional status of undernourished tribal males of India and to find the best prognosticator skin fold for assessing under nutrition. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 1435 adult males of India categorized on the basis of nutritional status (undernourished and normal), and age groups. Anthropometric measurements were taken on all subjects and adiposity indices were derived. Binomial logistic models were used to determine the odds for being underweight through each skinfold thickness when others were held constant. Nutritional status assessed was by body mass index (BMI) and mid upper arm circumference (MUAC) in association with various skinfold thicknesses showed higher odds for being underweight (1.54 and 1.42, respectively) when triceps skinfold was used as a predictor for controlling other skinfolds. In conclusion triceps skin fold thickness was followed by chest, calf posterior and subscapular skinfolds determined sub-nutritional status of the Indian undernourished population competently validating the role of simple- easy to take and non-invasive skinfold measurements in evaluation of nutritional status. Key words: Undernourished, triceps, skinfold thickness, nutrition, males.