Introduction: Bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) is a non-invasive method to assess percent body fat (PBF). PBF is the percentage of total body weight that is fat. In the Philippines, there are currently no local data for PBF measurement by BIA and their correlation with anthropometric and metabolic variables.

Objectives: To determine the correlation of PBF with other anthropometric (Body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), waist-hip ratio (WHR) and metabolic variables (fasting blood sugar (FBS), total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), triglycerides, systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP)) among adult Filipinos.

Methods: This is an analytical cross sectional study, which utilized records review of patients seen at weight management center, St.Luke’s Medical Center–Quezon City from January 2013 to March 2014. We included adult Filipino patients age 18-70 year old with BMI 16-34 kg/m2 in this study. Subjects taking anti-hypertensive, oral hypoglycemic agents, insulin, or lipid-lowering medications were excluded. Pearson correlation coefficients were computed to determine the correlation of PBF with anthropometric and metabolic variables.

Results: A138 patients were included in the analysis. Only 98 patients had FBS and blood lipid examination. The mean PBF for women was 38.15+6.28% and men with 26.93+4.89%. PBF was significantly correlated with BMI,WC,and WHR for both sexes,with BMI having the strongest correlation (r=0.902 for men;r=0.933 for women). Among Filipino men, PBF had significant correlation only with SBP (r=0.288;p=0.045) and DBP (r=0.511;p=0.000). Among Filipino women, PBF had significant inverse correlation to HDL-C (r=-0.321;p=0.013) and positive correlation to SBP (r=0.269;p=0.011) and DBP (r=0.275;p=0.009). Using the multiple regression analysis, PBF had no significant contribution in explaining metabolic variables.

Conclusion: PBF measured by BIA has a strong and significant correlation with BMI and WC. However, PBF has no significance in predicting the level of FBS, serum lipids, and BP. Other anthropometric measurements (BMI,WC,WHR) were more likely to be useful for predicting metabolic variables than PBF measurements by BIA among adult Filipino.

Keywords: Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis, Percent Body Fat, Metabolic variables.

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