Correlation and agreement between body mass index and abdominal perimeter for the detection of overweight or obesity in the Peruvian population, 2022

Introduction: body mass index and abdominal perimeter are anthropometric measurements that could be concordant in the Peruvian population for screening for overweight or obesity. Objective: to analyze the correlation and agreement between body mass index and abdominal circumference tests for the detection of overweight or obesity in Peruvian adults. Methodology: observational, analytical and cross-sectional study based on data from the national demographic family health survey. The population was 28,960 adults. The variables were: body mass index and abdominal perimeter. Cramer's V test, student's t, Spearman's correlation and Cohen's kappa were used. Results: there was a strong association between body mass index and abdominal perimeter in women (V=0.701), moderate in men (V=0.632). In Cohen's kappa test, both variables agreed substantially in women (kappa=0.677) and moderately in men (kappa=0.580). Using the Odds Ratio, women with a high body mass index had a 97.22 times greater probability of having a high abdominal circumference, while in men with a high body mass index it was 110.76 times greater. The Spearman correlation was very high and positive in both sexes Conclusions: abdominal circumference and body mass index are significantly associated and correlated in Peruvian adults; they presented substantial agreement in women and moderate agreement in men. It is suggested to prioritize the use of the abdominal perimeter, because it distinguishes overweight or obesity according to sex, optimizing it by determining a cut-off point adjusted to the Peruvian population.