Ethnic Specific body fat percent prediction equation as surrogate marker of obesity in Ethiopian adults

Background Application of advanced body composition measurement methods is not practical in developing countries context due to cost and unavailability of facilities. This study generated ethnic specific body fat percent prediction equation for Ethiopian adults using appropriate data. Methods A cross-sectional study was carried ifrom February to April 2015 among 704 randomly selected adult employees of Jimma University. Ethnic specific Ethiopian body fat percent (BF%) prediction equation was developed using a multivariable linear regression model with measured BF% as dependent variable and age, sex, and body mass index as predictor variables. Agreement between fat percent measured using air displacement plethysmography and body fat percent estimated using Caucasian prediction equations was determined using Bland Altman plot. Results Comparison of ADP measured and predicted BF% showed that Caucasian prediction equation underestimated body fat percent among Ethiopian adults by 6.78% (P Conclusion The Caucasian prediction equation significantly underestimates body fat percent among Ethiopian adults regardless of ethnicity. Ethiopian ethnic-specific prediction equation can be used as a very simple, cheap, and cost-effective alternative for estimating body fat percent among Ethiopian adults for health care provision in the prevention of obesity and related morbidities and for research purposes.