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. 2025 Jun;41(6):1677-1682.
doi: 10.12669/pjms.41.6.11630.

Comparison of body adiposity index and body mass index for assessment of body fat percentage among office workers: A validation study

Ramsha Habib  1 , Syed Fawad Mashhadi  2 , Ayesha Javed  3 , Mommana Ali Rathore  4
Affiliations

Comparison of body adiposity index and body mass index for assessment of body fat percentage among office workers: A validation study

Ramsha Habib et al. Pak J Med Sci. 2025 Jun.

Abstract

Objective: To determine the diagnostic accuracy of Body Mass Index (BMI) and Body Adiposity Index (BAI) in assessing body fat percentage among office workers.

Methods: This validation study was carried out among office workers in WAPDA center offices of three districts (Abbottabad, Haripur and Mansehra) in Hazara division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province from July 2024 to December 2024.Two stage probability sampling was used to select the sample. Data were collected regarding sociodemographics, anthropometric measures, behavioural factors and body fat percentage was obtained through bioimpedance analysis. BMI and BAI were calculated and compared to body fat percentage derived from bioimpedance analysis (reference method).

Results: Overall BAI showed better sensitivity of 81% (95%CI =70.6% - 88.9%) than BMI. ROC analysis showed greater AUC value of 0.85 (95% CI=0.79-0.91) in males and 0.97(95% CI=0.95-0.99) in females as compared to BMI (p < 0.05).Multiple linear regression showed age, weight and hip circumference to be positively associated with body fat percent (B values being 0.19, 0.28 and 0.33 respectively) while height, gender and physical activity were negatively associated with body fat percentage (B values -0.38,-0.43 and -0.26 respectively) (p<0.05).

Conclusions: BAI is a better predictor of body fat as compared to BMI among office workers and can replace BMI as a screening tool to measure body fat in community settings.

Keywords: Bioimpedance analysis; Body adiposity index; Body fat percentage; Body mass index; Obesity; Office workers.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest: None.

Figures

Fig.1A
Fig.1A
ROC curve for BMI and BAI in females.
Fig.1B
Fig.1B
ROC curve for BMI and BAI in males.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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