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Anthropometric body fat composition reference values in Spanish adolescents. The AVENA Study.

Moreno LA, Mesana MI, González-Gross M, Gil CM, Fleta J, Wärnberg J, Ruiz JR, Sarría A, Marcos A, Bueno M,

EU Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de Zaragoza, Spain. lmoreno@unizar.es

OBJECTIVE: To determine reference values for body mass index (BMI), sum of six skinfolds (sigma6 skinfolds) and body fat percentage (BF%) in Spanish adolescents aged 13-18 years, included in the AVENA Study (Alimentación y Valoración del Estado Nutricional en Adolescentes: Food and Assessment of the Nutritional Status of Adolescents). DESIGN: Multicentre cross-sectional study. SETTING: Representative sample of Spanish adolescents. SUBJECTS: The population was selected by means of a multiplestep, simple random sampling. The final number of subjects included in the AVENA Study was 2859 adolescents; 2160 adolescents had a complete set of anthropometric measurements and were then included in this study (1109 males and 1051 females). INTERVENTIONS: Weight, height and six skinfold thicknesses were measured. As indices of total adiposity, we calculated BMI, summation sigma6 skinfolds and BF% with the formulas described by Slaughter et al. RESULTS: Sigma6 skinfolds and BF% in each age group were significantly higher in females than in males. In males, age showed a significant effect for BMI, sigma6 skinfolds and BF%; however, in females, the effect was only significant for BF%. The percentile distribution was more disperse towards higher sigma6 skinfolds and BF% values in males when compared with females. CONCLUSIONS: The presented percentile values will help us to classify adolescents in comparison with a well-established reference population, and to estimate the proportion of adolescents with high or low adiposity amounts. SPONSORSHIP: The AVENA-Study was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Health (FIS 00/0015), and grants from Panrico SA, Madaus SA and Procter and Gamble SA. This study was also supported by Instituto de Salud Carlos III (Spain), RCESP (C03/09) and Spanish Ministry of Education (AP2003-2128).

Published 1 February 2006 in Eur J Clin Nutr, 60(2): 191-6.
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