Table 3.
Sensitivity and specificity of obesity classifications for BMI, skinfolds, and WHtR
| Males | Obese by DXAa | Non-obese by DXAa |
| Obese by BMIb | 53.6% (Sensitivity) | 6.5% (False positive) |
| Non-obese by BMIb | 46.4% (False negative) | 93.6% (Specificity) |
| Obese by skinfoldsc | 65.5% (Sensitivity) | 3.2% (False positive) |
| Non-obese by skinfoldsc | 34.5% (False negative) | 96.8% (Specificity) |
| Obese by WHtRd | 87.1% (Sensitivity) | 29.0% (False Positive) |
| Non-obese by WHtRd | 12.9% (False Negative) | 71.0% (Specificity) |
| Females | Obese by DXAa | Non-obese by DXAa |
| Obese by BMIb | 46.9% (Sensitivity) | 0.0% (False positive) |
| Non-obese by BMIb | 53.1% (False negative) | 100.0% (Specificity) |
| Obese by skinfoldsc | 72.7% (Sensitivity) | 2.9% (False positive) |
| Non-obese by skinfoldsc | 27.3% (False negative) | 97.1% (Specificity) |
| Obese by WHtRd | 70.4% (Sensitivity) | 4.8% (False Positive) |
| Non-obese by WHtRd | 29.6% (False Negative) | 95.2% (Specificity) |
a
Males with DXA estimated body fat percentages ≥25 and females with DXA estimated body fat percentages ≥30 were classified as obese.
b
Participants with BMI ≥30 kg·m2 were considered obese.
c
Males with skinfold estimated percent body fat ≥25 and females with skinfold estimated percent body fat ≥30 were classified as obese.
d
Participants with WHtR ≥0.5 were considered obese.