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Abstract
Aging brings about significant changes in body composition, notably an increase in adipose mass and its redistribution factors that are critical in the development of chronic diseases. In rural settings, where access to gold-standard methods such as DXA is limited, there is a need for validated anthropometric tools that allow for accurate and accessible nutritional and metabolic risk assessment. To apply the regression equation to estimate body fat percentage (BFP) in older adults in rural areas of Ecuador and to associate it with selected medical histories. A descriptive, prospective, cross-sectional, and correlational study involving 316 older adults (31.3% men and 68.7% women). The following variables were analyzed: sex, age, weight, height, waist circumference (WC), body mass index (BMI), and body fat percentage estimated by regression (PGCR). The PGCR was significantly higher in women (p < 0.000). Based on BMI, 47.4% of men and 41.5% of women were overweight. The equation PGCR = 13.89 + 0.834·BMI + 0.056·CC ? 6.193·Sex demonstrated good predictive ability (R² = 0.357). The ROC curve yielded an AUC of 0.783, confirming a significant association between the PGCR and hypertension (p = 0.008). The proposed equation is a valid and useful tool for estimating body fat percentage, facilitating the identification of cardiometabolic risk in rural Ecuadorian communities where diagnostic technology is limited.
References
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