Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39861925›Full record

SynthesisObesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity2025

Validity of non-traditional measures of obesity compared to total body fat across the life course: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Alexandra M Palumbo, Chandni Maria Jacob, Sahar Khademioore, Mohammad Nazmus Sakib, Yulika Yoshida-Montezuma, Nicolette Christodoulakis, Peter Yassa, Manasvi Sai Vanama, Syrine Gamra, Pei-Ju Ho and 4 more

Abstract readSystematic ReviewMeta-Analysis
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

7 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Validity of non-traditional measures of obesity compared to total body fat across the life course: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity · 2025
    Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Review
  6. Article
  7. Relative Fat Mass and Psoriasis Risk: Evidence from NHANES 2009-2014.Journal of multidisciplinary healthcare · 2025
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

14 authors.

Alexandra M PalumboDepartment of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Chandni Maria JacobDepartment of Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health and Ageing, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland.
Sahar KhademiooreDepartment of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.ORCID 0000-0002-3025-0006
Mohammad Nazmus SakibDepartment of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Yulika Yoshida-MontezumaDepartment of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Nicolette ChristodoulakisDepartment of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.ORCID 0000-0001-7852-139X
Peter YassaDepartment of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Manasvi Sai VanamaDepartment of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.ORCID 0000-0003-4445-2829
Syrine GamraDepartment of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Pei-Ju HoDepartment of Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health and Ageing, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland.ORCID 0009-0009-5972-0233
Ritu SadanaDepartment of Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health and Ageing, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland.
Vanessa De RubeisDepartment of Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health and Ageing, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland.
Lauren E GriffithDepartment of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Laura N AndersonDepartment of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.ORCID 0000-0002-6106-5073

Funding

Velux Stiftung, ZurichWorld Health Organization 001
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

IntroductionTraditional obesity measures including body mass index, waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio, and waist-to-height ratio have limitations. The primary objective of this study was to identify and review the validity of non-traditional obesity measures, using measures of total body fat as the reference standard, that have been used across multiple life stages. MethodsWe conducted a systematic review and searched MEDLINE, Embase, and PsycINFO. We included observational studies published from 2013 to October 2023 among "the general population" for any life stage that reported the validity of non-traditional obesity measures compared to total body fat reference standards. Separate meta-analyses were performed to pool correlation coefficients and mean differences for non-traditional obesity measures that were evaluated at multiple life stages. ResultsA total of 123 studies were included, and 55 validated non-traditional obesity measures were identified. Of these, 13 were evaluated at multiple life stages. Two-dimensional (2D) digital imaging technologies, three-dimensional (3D) body scanners, relative fat mass (RFM), and mid-upper arm circumference had high or moderate validity (pooled correlation coefficient >0.70). Pooled mean differences were small (<6%) between total body fat percentage from reference standards and from RFM, 2D digital imaging technologies, 3D body scanners, and the body adiposity index. Heterogeneity (I

Indexed as

Adipose TissueAdiposityObesityBody Mass IndexHumansReproducibility of ResultsWaist CircumferenceWaist-Hip Ratiometa‐analysisobesitysystematic reviewvalidation studies

Identifiers

PMID39861925
PMCPMC12069165

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.