3.3. Missing Values
adiposity
SECONDARY, ADIPOSITY
The participants of the study were not aware of their BIA and blood results. Thus, discontinuation from the study due to knowledge about these values could be excluded. In other words, the reasons for withdrawal were unrelated to the outcomes of the primary and secondary parameters. Hence, missing values were regarded as completely at random (MCAR) and could be neglected without loss of validity of study findings.The primary and secondary parameters were defined as the difference between the end and start of intervention. Individuals who had two BIA measurements were included in the FAS population regardless of the date of the second measurement. So, there were no missing values concerning the primary parameter in the FAS.The visceral adiposity index (VAI), the secondary parameter, was calculated based on the values of the waist circumference (WC), triglycerides (TGs), body mass index (BMI) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL). Four of the six persons from the FAS population who withdrew preliminarily from the study did not have all measurements of these parameters at the study end. Their missing values constituted only 2.27% of all VAI values.The three groups did not significantly differ in missing values in the FAS population acc. to the secondary parameter, the VAI (ChiOther blood values for explorative parameter analysis were missing because of insufficient blood sample volume. Imputations were not made for these values either.