Phase angle clusters in bioimpedance: An alternative to body mass index

AO_SCPLOWBSTRACTC_SCPLOWO_ST_ABSBackgroundC_ST_ABSThe "Body Mass Index" (BMI) or "Quetelet Index" is the most widely used tool to diagnose the degree of obesity. Anyone can calculate it, with no other tools than a scale and a measuring rod. However, its accuracy in predicting body fat percentage is low. The aim of this study is to find an alternative to BMI that is more reliable, accessible and easily applicable in daily clinical practice. MethodsUsing the K-means method (an unsupervised classification algorithm), we performed a cluster analysis of the two phase angles obtained with bioimpedance analysis (BIA) of 641 women with different health status. BMI, age, diseases, treatments and any other data other than the phase angle values of the participants were not taken into account. ResultsThe clusters generated by the K-means algorithm do not coincide with the BMI categories, nor with the predetermined division of individuals into healthy and pathological. The K-means clustering algorithm identified new patterns that provide information on the greater or lesser predisposition of different individuals to suffer from diseases, taking as a reference their pathological peers in the same cluster. ConclusionsThe categories generated by the K-means algorithm based on the phase angles obtained by BIA classify individuals according to their health status independently of other variables such as age or BMI.