Does Body Mass Index Predict Overweight in Native Asian Indians? A Study from a North Indian Population

Vol. 50, No. 1, 2006

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Original Paper

Does Body Mass Index Predict Overweight in Native Asian Indians? A Study from a North Indian Population
A. Bhansali^a, G. Nagaprasad^b, A. Agarwal^c, P. Dutta^a, S. Bhadada^a

Departments of
^aEndocrinology,
^bDermatology and
^cPulmonary Medicine, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India

Address of Corresponding Author

Ann Nutr Metab 2006;50:66-73 (DOI: 10.1159/000089673)

Key Words

Body mass index
Percentage body fat
Native Asian Indian

Abstract

Aims: Body mass index (BMI) has been considered as a gold standard for defining overweight and obesity, and in western populations it has correlated with percentage body fat (%BF). However, data in native Asian Indians regarding BMI and %BF is conflicting and questions have been raised to redefine the BMI cut-off values in these subjects. Subjects and Methods: 150 healthy volunteers (79 men and 71 women aged 18-78 and 23-75 years respectively) were recruited for the study. Clinical examination was performed to exclude any systemic disease. Anthropometric measurements were done and %BF was calculated from skinfold thickness. Results: The BMI for men was 24.96 kg/m² (±3.85) and for women was 25.75 kg/m² (±4.39).%BF calculated by skinfold thickness was 21.94% (±5.92) in men and 35.15% (±5.77) in women. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed a higher sensitivity (92%) and higher negative predictive value (95%) for the conventional cut-off value of the BMI (25 kg/m²) in identifying subjects with overweight with %BF of more than 25% in men. However, in females a BMI of 23.9 kg/m² had a sensitivity of 84% and negative predictive value of 62% thereby decreasing the misclassification by 13% with %BF of more than 30% as compared to conventional BMI cut-off of >25 kg/m². A comparison of BF data amongst Caucasians, Blacks and migrant ethnic Asians revealed inconspicuous differences in men. Conclusion: Native North Indian men had comparative BMI and %BF as that of their western counterparts.

Author Contacts

Dr. Anil Bhansali
Department of Endocrinology, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research
Chandigarh 160012 (India)
Tel. +91 172 747585 600, ext 6583, Fax +91 172 744401/745078
E-Mail anilbhansali_endocrine@rediffmail.com

Article Information

Received: October 30, 2004
Accepted: May 4, 2005
Published online: November 10, 2005
Number of Print Pages : 8
Number of Figures : 2, Number of Tables : 4, Number of References : 26

Medline Abstract (ID 16282680)

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