Introduction:

Given the complexity and costs involved in measuring body fat percentage in humans, there is a quest to establish new methods for determining this variable. The CUN-BAE equation utilizes simple indicators such as sex and Body Mass Index (BMI) to estimate body fat percentage. The objective was to determine the degree of correlation between the percentage of body fat obtained through the CUN-BAE equation, BMI, and waist circumference (WC) in Chilean adults from the interviewed sample of the National Health Survey (CNHS) 2016-2017.

Methodology:

5,583 participants of the CNHS 2016-2017 were included, where specific anthropometric measurements were taken to determine BMI, nutritional status, and WC. In addition, the percentage of fat mass was determined according to the CUN-BAE equation. The correlation between BMI, WC, and CUN-BAE was analyzed using the Pearson correlation coefficient (r).

Results:

BMI and percentage of fat mass according to the CUN-BAE equation presented a strong correlation both in men (r=0.924, p<0.0001) and women (r=0.929, p<0.0001). Women presented a higher correlation between CUN-BAE and BMI and WC than men. In the case of the correlation between WC and percentage of body fat mass according to CUN-BAE, a strong correlation was also observed for both men (r=0.817, p<0.0001) and women (r=0.812, p<0.0001).

Conclusions:

The CUN-BAE equation to determine the percentage of body fat has a strong correlation with respect to BMI and WC. Further studies are required to evaluate the predictive capacity of CUN-BAE for chronic noncommunicable diseases in the Chilean population.

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