Tri-ponderal mass index (TMI) and fat mass index (FMI) have been proposed as alternative approaches for assessing body fat since BMI does not ensure an accurate screening for obesity and overweight status in children and adolescents. This study proposes thresholds of the TMI and FMI for the prediction of metabolic syndrome (MetS) in children and young people. For this purpose, a cross-sectional study was conducted on 4673 participants (57.1% females), who were 9–25 years of age. As part of the study, measurements of the subjects’ weight, waist circumference, serum lipid indices, blood pressure and fasting plasma glucose were taken. Body composition was measured by bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA). The TMI and FMI were calculated as weight (kg)/height (m3) and fat mass (kg)/height (m3), respectively. Following the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) definition, MetS is defined as including three or more metabolic abnormalities. Cohort-specific thresholds were established to identify Colombian children and young people at high risk of MetS. The thresholds were applied to the following groups: (i) a cohort of children where the girls’ TMI ≥ 12.13 kg/m3 and the boys’ TMI ≥ 12.10 kg/m3; (ii) a cohort of adolescents where the girls’ TMI ≥ 12.48 kg/m3 and the boys’ TMI ≥ 11.19 kg/m3; (iii) a cohort of young adults where the women’s TMI ≥ 13.21 kg/m3 and the men’s TMI ≥ 12.19 kg/m3. The FMI reference cut-off values used for the different groups were as follows: (i) a cohort of children where the girls’ FMI ≥ 2.59 fat mass/m3 and the boys’ FMI ≥ 1.98 fat mass/m3; (ii) a cohort of adolescents where the girls’ FMI ≥ 3.12 fat mass/m3 and the boys’ FMI ≥ 1.46 fat mass/m3; (iii) a cohort of adults where the women’s FMI ≥ 3.27 kg/m3 and the men’s FMI ≥ 1.65 kg/m3. Our results showed that the FMI and TMI had a moderate discriminatory power to detect MetS in Colombian children, adolescents, and young adults.
Normal-weight obesity (NWO) has been shown to be associated with cardiometabolic dysfunction. However, little is known regarding this potential relationship in early adulthood. The aim of this study was to investigate the associations between NWO and cardiometabolic risk factors in a large population of Colombian young adults. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 1354 subjects (61% women), aged from 18 to 30. Anthropometric data, including body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC), were estimated, and the percentage of fat mass was measured through bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA). Muscular fitness was determined by using a handgrip strength test and normalized grip strength (NGS = handgrip (kg)/body mass (kg)). A cardiometabolic risk Z-score was derived by assessing WC, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) cholesterol, fasting glucose, and systolic blood pressure. NWO was defined by the combination of excess %BF (over 25.5% for men and 38.9% for women) and a BMI < 25 kg/m2. The overall prevalence of NWO was 29.1%. Subjects with NWO have an increased risk of cardiometabolic risk compared to the normal-weight lean group (OR = 3.10). Moreover, NWO was associated with an increased risk of presenting low HDL-C (OR = 2.34), high abdominal obesity (OR = 7.27), and low NGS (OR = 3.30), p < 0.001. There is a high prevalence of NWO in American Latin young adults and this condition is associated with an increased cardiovascular risk, high blood pressure, low HDL-C, high abdominal obesity, and low muscular strength early in life. Screening for adiposity in subjects with a normal BMI could help to identify young adults at a high risk of cardiometabolic abnormalities.
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