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Overweight and Obesity: Prediction by Silhouettes in Young Adults
Author(s) -
MuñozCachón M.J.,
Salces Itziar,
Arroyo Marta,
Ansotegui Laura,
Rocandio A.M.,
Rebato Esther
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
obesity
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.438
H-Index - 199
eISSN - 1930-739X
pISSN - 1930-7381
DOI - 10.1038/oby.2008.541
Subject(s) - overweight , anthropometry , obesity , medicine , cutoff , receiver operating characteristic , demography , cross sectional study , gerontology , physics , pathology , quantum mechanics , sociology
The present study analyzes the prevalence of overweight/obesity in a sample of young adults from the University of the Basque Country (Spain), and tests the efficiency of the silhouettes to predict overweight/obesity. This cross‐sectional study was conducted in a sample of volunteer university students from the University of the Basque Country (356 men and 745 women, age: 18–33 years), who came to the Physical Anthropology laboratory where a standardized questionnaire was administered and anthropometric measurements were taken by a well‐trained anthropometrist. Height and weight were obtained. BMI was calculated as weight/height 2 (kg/m 2 ) and it was used as a reference method. Using a questionnaire, based on the standard figural stimuli, subjects were asked to choose the silhouette which was closest to his/her usual appearance (current body size). The accuracy of the Williamson et al. 's silhouettes as an overweight‐obesity indicator was analyzed by gender‐specific receiver operating curve (ROC). The cutoff figure to distinguish between nonoverweight and overweight‐obese individuals corresponded to number 7 in men and 6 in women. These cutoff values matched optimal sensitivity and specificity, with few nonoverweight subjects selecting silhouettes bigger than 7 in the case of men or 6 for women. In conclusion, the figural stimuli allows the identification of populations at overweight/obesity risk with the simple use of silhouettes, at least in this rank of age, where the overweight and obesity are yet little frequent.