Abstract
Asian Indians are at high risk for the development of atherosclerosis and related complications, possibly initiated by higher body fat (BF). The present study attempted to establish appropriate cut-off levels of the BMI for defining overweight, considering percentage BF in healthy Asian Indians in northern India as the standard. A total of 123 healthy volunteers (eighty-six males aged 18-75 years and thirty-seven females aged 20-69 years) participated in the study. Clinical examination and anthropometric measurements were performed, and percentage BF was calculated. BMI for males was 21.4 (SD 3.7) kg/m2 and for females was 23.3 (SD 5.5) kg/m2. Percentage BF was 21.3 (SD 7.6) in males and 35.4 (SD 5.0) in females. A comparison of BF data among Caucasians, Blacks, Polynesians and Asian ethnic groups (e.g. immigrant Chinese) revealed conspicuous differences. Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve analysis showed a low sensitivity and negative predictive value of the conventional cut-off value of the BMI (25 kg/m2) in identifying subjects with overweight as compared to the cut-off value based on percentage BF (males > 25, females > 30). This observation is particularly obvious in females, resulting in substantial misclassification. Based on the ROC curve, a lower cut-off value of the BMI (21.5 kg/m2 for males and 19.0 kg/m2 for females) displayed the optimal sensitivity and specificity, and less misclassification in identification of subjects with high percentage BF. Furthermore, a novel obesity variable, BF:BMI, was tested and should prove useful for interethnic comparison of body composition. In the northern Indian population, the conventional cut-off level of the BMI underestimates overweight and obesity when percentage BF is used as the standard to define overweight. These preliminary findings, if confirmed in a larger number of subjects and with the use of instruments having a higher accuracy of BF assessment, would be crucial for planning and the prevention and treatment of various obesity-related metabolic diseases in the Asian Indian population.
Original language | English (US) |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 105-112 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | British Journal of Nutrition |
Volume | 86 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 2001 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Asian Indians
- BMI
- Body fat
- Obesity
- Skinfolds
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Medicine (miscellaneous)
- Nutrition and Dietetics