Research Article

Machine Learning Models for Accurate Prediction of Obesity: A Data-Driven Approach

Volume: 20 Number: 1 March 27, 2025
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Machine Learning Models for Accurate Prediction of Obesity: A Data-Driven Approach

Abstract

The number of people affected by obesity is rising steadily. Diagnosing obesity is crucial due to its harmful impacts on human health and it has become one of the world’s most important global health concerns. Therefore, it is crucial to develop methods that can enable early prediction of obesity risk and aid in mitigating the increasing prevalence of obesity. In the literature, some methods rely solely on Body Mass Index (BMI) for the prediction and classification of obesity may result in inaccurate outcomes. Additionally, more accurate predictions can be performed by developing machine learning models that incorporate additional factors such as individuals’ lifestyle and dietary habits, alongside height and weight used in BMI calculations. In this study, the potential of three different machine learning methods (naive Bayes, decision tree, and Random Forest (RF)) in predicting obesity levels were investigated. The best performance among the compared methods was obtained with RF (accuracy=0.8892, macro average F1-score=0.8618, Macro Average Precision (MAP)=0.8350, Macro Average Recall (MAR)=0.9122,). In addition, feature selection was also performed to determine the features that are significant for the estimation of the obesity level. According to the experimental results with feature selection, the RF method resulted in the highest score (accuracy=0.9236, MAP=0.9232, MAR=0.9358, macro average F1-score=0.9269) with fewer features. The results demonstrate that the performance of machine learning models on the same dataset can be enhanced through detailed hyperparameter tuning. Furthermore, applying feature selection can improve performance by mitigating the adverse effects of irrelevant or redundant features that may degrade the model’s effectiveness.

Keywords

References

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Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Computing Applications in Health

Journal Section

Research Article

Publication Date

March 27, 2025

Submission Date

October 23, 2024

Acceptance Date

December 3, 2024

Published in Issue

Year 2025 Volume: 20 Number: 1

APA
Değirmenci, A. (2025). Machine Learning Models for Accurate Prediction of Obesity: A Data-Driven Approach. Turkish Journal of Science and Technology, 20(1), 77-90. https://doi.org/10.55525/tjst.1572382
AMA
1.Değirmenci A. Machine Learning Models for Accurate Prediction of Obesity: A Data-Driven Approach. TJST. 2025;20(1):77-90. doi:10.55525/tjst.1572382
Chicago
Değirmenci, Ali. 2025. “Machine Learning Models for Accurate Prediction of Obesity: A Data-Driven Approach”. Turkish Journal of Science and Technology 20 (1): 77-90. https://doi.org/10.55525/tjst.1572382.
EndNote
Değirmenci A (March 1, 2025) Machine Learning Models for Accurate Prediction of Obesity: A Data-Driven Approach. Turkish Journal of Science and Technology 20 1 77–90.
IEEE
[1]A. Değirmenci, “Machine Learning Models for Accurate Prediction of Obesity: A Data-Driven Approach”, TJST, vol. 20, no. 1, pp. 77–90, Mar. 2025, doi: 10.55525/tjst.1572382.
ISNAD
Değirmenci, Ali. “Machine Learning Models for Accurate Prediction of Obesity: A Data-Driven Approach”. Turkish Journal of Science and Technology 20/1 (March 1, 2025): 77-90. https://doi.org/10.55525/tjst.1572382.
JAMA
1.Değirmenci A. Machine Learning Models for Accurate Prediction of Obesity: A Data-Driven Approach. TJST. 2025;20:77–90.
MLA
Değirmenci, Ali. “Machine Learning Models for Accurate Prediction of Obesity: A Data-Driven Approach”. Turkish Journal of Science and Technology, vol. 20, no. 1, Mar. 2025, pp. 77-90, doi:10.55525/tjst.1572382.
Vancouver
1.Ali Değirmenci. Machine Learning Models for Accurate Prediction of Obesity: A Data-Driven Approach. TJST. 2025 Mar. 1;20(1):77-90. doi:10.55525/tjst.1572382

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