Background: Abdominal visceral fat affects the metabolic processes, and is an important risk factor for morbidity and mortality. The purpose of the study was to develop a quick and accurate estimate in the visceral fat area (VFA) of the L4-L5 vertebrae using anthropometric predictor variables that can be measured conveniently.
Methods: A total of 227 individuals participated in this study and were further divided into a Modeling group (MG) and a Validation group (VG). Anthropometrics measurements (height, weight, waist circumference, hip circumference, age, and subcutaneous fat thickness) and VFACT were measured using computer assisted tomography for all participants. Multivariate linear regression analysis was applied to the MG to construct a VFA estimator using anthropometric predictor variables and to evaluate its performance using the VG.
Results: The estimate equation obtained from the MG were VFAANT = -144.66 + 1.84X1 + 1.35X2 + 0.52X3 (r = 0.92, SEE =14.58 cm2, P < 0.001, n = 152). The X1, X2, and X3 variables in the equation were denoted as waist circumference (WC), age, and abdomen subcutaneous fat thickness (AS). In addition, the correlation between VFAANT and VFACT showed a high correlation (r = 0.92).
Conclusion: A rapid and accurate VFA estimation can be achieved by using only age, WC, and AS. The approach in the present study provides an easy and reliable estimate that can be applied widely in health and epidemiology studies.