Nutritional Status and Body Composition in an Industrially Exposed Population: Sex-Specific Anthropometric Patterns in Chilean Adults
DOI :
Rodrigo Yáñez-Sepúlveda; Guillermo Cortés-Roco; Exal Garcia-Carrillo; Jorge Olivares-Arancibia; Nicole Aguilera- Martínez; Carlos Herrera-Amante; Fiorella Quiroz-Cárdenas & José Francisco López-Gil
Summary
Understanding body composition through advanced anthropometric indicators provides critical insight into nutritional status and cardiometabolic risk, particularly in vulnerable populations. Traditional metrics like body mass index (BMI) often misclassify health status by failing to differentiate fat from lean mass. Chile lacks population-based studies incorporating body composition indices (Fat Mass Index [FMI], Fat-Free Mass Index [FFMI], Skeletal Muscle Index [SMI], Fat-to-Muscle Ratio), especially in industrial- exposed areas like Quintero. This cross-sectional study assessed 2709 adults (1906 women, 803 men) living in Quintero using multifrequency bioelectrical impedance analysis (InBody®). Variables included BMI, percent body fat (PBF), fat-free mass (FFM), skeletal muscle mass (SMM), and derived indices (FMI, FFMI, SMI, Fat-to-Muscle Ratio). Data were stratified by sex/age and analyzed using t-tests and Pearson correlations. Men showed higher FFM (63.8±7.3 kg), SMM (36.4±4.3 kg), and FFMI (24.0±4.9), while women had significantly greater PBF (39.9±7.5 %) and FMI (11.5±4.8). The fat-to-muscle ratio was 2.1 higher in women (1.25±0.38 vs. 0.59±0.31). Overall, 46.5 % had obesity based on PBF (50.7 % women). Age correlated positively with PBF (men: r=0.36; women: r=0.20) and negatively with %SMM (men: r =-0.38; women: r=-0.22). The Quintero population exhibits high adiposity rates with age-related muscle decline, suggesting sarcopenic obesity features. Advanced indices provided more accurate risk stratification than BMI alone, underscoring their utility for public health surveillance in environmentally vulnerable communities.
KEY WORDS: Adiposity; Anthropometry; Body composition; Lean body mass; Nutritional status; Skinfold thickness.
