Introduction:

The aim of the present study was to describe the prevalence of obesity in soldiers of the Buin Regiment (Santiago, Chile) using BMI and body fat percentage by age groups and comparing it with different anthropometric indicators.

Material and Methods:

Cross-sectional study with 415 soldiers. Sociodemographic information was obtained and an anthropometric evaluation was carried out, which included a measurement of height, weight and body composition. A description of the prevalence of obesity was made, the anthropometric measures were compared according to age using the ANOVA test, Pearson correlations were made between the anthropometric variables and the diagnostic concordance was determined between BMI and percentage of body fat using the Kappa index.

Results:

Using BMI and body fat percentage the prevalence of obesity in soldiers of the Buin Regiment was 14.3% and 14.0%, respectively. This prevalence increases progressively as the age of the soldiers increases (p<0.05), being greater than 50% of obesity the prevalence of soldiers over 30. There was a positive correlation between BMI and body fat (r=0.921), fat percentage (r=0.834), fat free mass (r=0.610) and total body water (r=0.614). The diagnostic concordance between body mass index and body fat percentage was κ=0.513, being BMI the most overestimated in overweight and obesity of soldiers.

Conclusions:

One-fifth of soldiers of the Buin Regiment are obese, increasing as the age increases. It seems necessary to incorporate the percentage of body fat to the classic measurements of weight and height.

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