[Critical revision of the available methods for evaluate the body composition in population-based and clinical studies].

The corporal composition evaluation is extremely important for the individual and population nutritional state diagnosis and for the establishment of appropriate clinical-nutritional conducts. An excess of body fat is frequently associated with important metabolic alterations and chronic diseases, such as diabetes, hypertension and dyslipidemia The availability of methods to assess body composition is essential to evaluate health status of individuals. There are several methods for the corporal composition analysis, and it is important to know the limitation of each one and his/her validity so that the obtained estimates are reliable and correctly interpreted. The purpose of this study was to revise the applicability of some nutritional state indicators and corporal composition evaluation methods, such as corporal mass index, waist circumference and waist-hip relation, skinfold measurements, bioelectrical impedance analysis and near-infrared interactance.