Bioimpendancemetria as a method for diagnosis of visceral obesity in pediatric practice

Introduction. Visceral obesity is a key factor in the development of metabolic syndrome, which can lead to early disability and lower quality of life. The body mass index, which is widely used as a method of diagnosing obesity, does not allow for the differentiation of visceral fatty tissue. Radiation-based visceral obesity diagnostic methods, which are the gold standard, cannot be used as a screening method due to radiation exposure and high costs. Therefore, there is a need for early diagnosis of visceral obesity, which can be used in outpatient care. Objective. To develop a non-invasive method of early diagnosis of visceral obesity in children and adolescents. Methods. The study was conducted among children and adolescents aged 3 to 18 years (n=1914). A complex examination was carried out on everyone, including anthropometry and analysis of body composition by Inbody 770. A group of patients with and without visceral obesity (n=227) was identified among those studied (n=210). From both groups, the examined patients (n=88) were randomly selected for a CT scan to determine the visceral fat area. The data obtained were used by the IBM Watson cognitive system to build a multivariate statistical model of the decision support system. Results. A model for screening visceral obesity among children and adolescents was obtained, comparable in accuracy to CT (Sensitivity 91%, specificity 80%.).Conclusion. The obtained model for screening visceral obesity among children and adolescents can be used for the annual medical examination, as it is easy to use, has an accuracy comparable to CT, but lacks its drawbacks, such as radiation exposure, high cost, inability to use outpatient.

visceral obesity, bioimpedancemetry, childhood obesity, chronic non-infectious diseases