Evaluation of body fat and risk of obesity with body mass index and relative fat mass in college students

Introduction: Obesity, a global chronic disease characterized by excessive body fat accumulation, carries elevated factors of mortality and chronic diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, representing a serious threat to health. The aim of the study is to determine the risk of obesity in university students through the evaluation of body mass index (BMI) and relative fat mass (RFM).Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 28 students of Nutrition and Dietetics of the Technical University of Ambato, using surveys, anthropometric measurements and statistical analysis of Spearman correlation (rs=0.569) and chi-square test (BMI: X2=0.224, P=0.894; RFM: X2=0.0499, P=0.823) with a significance level ????<0.05.Results: The mean BMI was 22.8 kg/m² with 7 participants classified as overweight and a mean RFM of 31.6%, identifying 11 individuals at risk for obesity. A possible underestimation by BMI and overestimation by MFR of the risk of obesity were identified.Conclusions: The joint use of different assessment methods is crucial to obtain more accurate estimates of body composition and improve obesity intervention strategies.