Accuracy of body fat and waist circumference in predicting metabolic abnormalities indicating cardiovascular risk in adolescents

Objective: To evaluate the performance of percent body fat (% BF) and waist circumference (WC) in predicting metabolic abnormalities indicating cardiovascular risk in adolescents. Subjects and methods: Cross-sectional study with a probabilistic sample of 573 adolescents aged 12 to 19 years from state public schools in Niteroi, RJ. The Receiver Operating Characteristic Curve was used to evaluate the accuracy of WC and % BF in predicting alterations in blood pressure, lipid profile, and blood glucose. Results: The best % BF cutoff points were 21% for boys, and 23% for girls, with sensitivity (SE) and specificity (SP) of approximately 60%. The best WC cutoff points were 71 cm for boys, and 66 cm for girls (SE: 55% to 70%; SP: 55% to 78%). Conclusion: Even the best cutoff points misidentified high proportions of adolescents with metabolic abnormalities. Caution is recommended in the use of these indicators for cardiovascular risk screening in this age group.