Beyond Body Mass Index: Accurate Metabolic Disease-Risk Phenotyping With 3D Smartphone Application

Authors

• Cassidy McCarthy, Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Baton Rouge, LA
• Grant M. Tinsley, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX
• Sophia Ramirez, Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Baton Rouge, LA
• Steven B. Heymsfield, Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Baton Rouge, LA

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

11-29-2024

Publication Title

Obesity Science and Practice

Abstract

Objective: Smartphone applications (apps) with optical imaging capabilities are transforming the field of physical anthropometry; digital measurements of body size and shape in clinical settings are increasingly feasible. Currently available apps are usually designed around the capture of two-dimensional images that are then transformed with app software to three-dimensional (3D) avatars that can be used for digital anthropometry. The aim of the current study was to compare waist circumference (WC), hip circumference (HC), four other circumferences (right/left upper arm, thigh) and WC/HC evaluated with a novel high-precision 3D smartphone app to ground-truth measurements made with a flexible tape by a trained anthropometrist. Methods: Forty-four participants aged 20-78 years and body mass index 18.5-48.5 kg/m2 completed digital and manual circumference evaluations and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry for visceral adipose tissue mass (VAT). Results: 3D-digital and ground-truth tape WC, HC, and WC/HC estimates were highly correlated (R 2s, 0.90-0.97, p < 0.001), mean 3D and tape group means at each site did not differ significantly, mean absolute (± SD) and root-mean square errors were low (e.g., WC, 3.4 ± 2.6 and 4.4 cm), and strong concordance correlations were present (0.90-0.99); bias with Bland-Altman analyses was small but significant (p < 0.001) for WC and WC/HC. Comparable results were observed for the four other circumferences. VAT was equally well-correlated with 3D and tape WC measurements (R 2s 0.70, 0.69, both p < 0.001); comparable tape-3D VAT-WC/HC associations were also observed in males (R 2s, 0.85, 0.73, both p < 0.001) and females (R 2s, 0.43, p < 0.01; 0.73, p < 0.001). Conclusions: Digital anthropometry, with accessible technology such as the evaluated novel 3D app, has reached a sufficiently developed stage to go beyond body mass index for phenotyping patient's metabolic disease risks.

First Page

1

Last Page

7

DOI

10.1002/osp4.70025

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Recommended Citation

McCarthy, Cassidy; Tinsley, Grant M.; Ramirez, Sophia; and Heymsfield, Steven B., "Beyond Body Mass Index: Accurate Metabolic Disease-Risk Phenotyping With 3D Smartphone Application" (2024). LSU-LCMC Cancer Center Faculty Publications. 205.
https://digitalscholar.lsuhsc.edu/llcc_facpubs/205
10.1002/osp4.70025