Association between the anthropometric indicators and percentage body fat in male students of the Federal University of Amapa, AP

Obesity is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a disease characterized by the excessive accumulation of body fat, being of great importance to develop cut-off points based on anthropometric indicators for the diagnosis of obesity as a preventive measure and intervention in public health. This study aimed at determining the association between anthropometric indicators and body fat percentage in male students of Physical Education course at the Federal University of Amapa. A sample of 22 apparently healthy men (20-29 years) participated in this study. Sampling was performed by clusters, since the volunteers were randomly selected during an anthropometric evaluation for waist circumference, abdomen circumference, hip circumference, waist-hip ratio, body mass index and percentage body fat (%BF) by the skinfold method. The present study showed a good linear correlated and significant (r=0.50-0.75) between the anthropometric and %BF. In conclusion, it resulted significant correlations between all of the anthropometric indicators and %BF when analyzed in volunteers with physical and anthropometric characteristics similar to those of the present study, becoming possible indicators in the prediction of diseases and health promotion.