Abdominal fat assessment in adolescents using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry

Background: Abdominal obesity is an increasing problem in adolescents, often persisting into adulthood. Reliable assessment has been restricted to techniques limited by relatively high radiation doses or cost. Aim: To investigate the reliability of several abdominal regions using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), and to assess the construct validity of these methods against metabolic profile. Methods: Inter- and intra-rater precision of two assessors were examined, for fat mass analysis in six different abdominal regions using DXA in overweight/obese and normal weight adolescents. Construct validity was examined in overweight/obese individuals. Results: All methods had acceptable intra- and inter-rater reliability. Region 1 was most precise in overweight/obese individuals, while Region 6 was most precise in normal weight individuals. In all regions, assessments were less precise in overweight/obese individuals. All regions were equally predictive of insulin outcomes. Conclusions: Abdominal adiposity can be reliably assessed in adolescents using DXA, and the most precisely assessed regions were identified. All regions predicted insulin outcomes.