Background/Purpose
Research shows that individuals with greater amounts of abdominal fat are at an increased risk for cardiovascular disease. Sagittal abdominal diameter (SAD) is an anthropometric measure for body composition that measures the anteroposterior thickness of the abdomen, or abdominal adiposity. Recent studies suggest that SAD measurements are the greatest predictor for risk of cardiovascular disease, even more so than waist circumference (WC), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), and body mass index (BMI), all of which are widely accepted measures associated with risk for cardiovascular disease. Each of the aforementioned anthropometric body composition measurements estimate abdominal adiposity through circumferences and height and weight ratios. Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DXA) is considered to be the "gold standard" in regards to body composition measurement because it indirectly measures the amount of lean tissue and fat in the body. The purpose of this study was to identify the relationship between SAD and abdominal fat as measured by DXA among women.
Method
Participants (n = 95) were women with a mean age of 43.9 +/- 11.4 years. Each participant reported to the Kinesiology Laboratory at the University of Central Oklahoma, where they received a DXA scan and SAD measurements were obtained. Abdominal fat was assessed using DXA and was defined as the total amount of fat between the iliac crest and the last rib. SAD was measured using a Holtain Kahn abdominal caliper. All measurements were taken with the subject in the supine position at the level of the umbilicus after a normal expiration. Measurements were repeated and the average was used in the analysis.
Analysis/Results
A Pearson product moment correlation coefficient was utilized for data analysis. Results indicated a strong positive correlation (r = .951, p = .00) between SAD and measured abdominal fat.
Conclusions
Based on these findings, the researchers concluded that SAD is, in fact, highly related to the absolute amount of abdominal fat in women. While SAD is a significant predictor of abdominal adiposity, further research should be employed comparing it to the currently preferred method, waist circumference. While waist circumference is easy to administer and widely accepted, SAD has less intertechnician error and higher intratechnician reliability.