scholarly journals Ethnic differences in the relationship between body mass index and percentage body fat among Asian children from different backgrounds

2011 ◽  
Vol 106 (9) ◽  
pp. 1390-1397 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ailing Liu ◽  
Nuala M. Byrne ◽  
Masaharu Kagawa ◽  
Guansheng Ma ◽  
Bee Koon Poh ◽  
...  

Overweight and obesity in Asian children are increasing at an alarming rate; therefore a better understanding of the relationship between BMI and percentage body fat (%BF) in this population is important. A total of 1039 children aged 8–10 years, encompassing a wide BMI range, were recruited from China, Lebanon, Malaysia, The Philippines and Thailand. Body composition was determined using the 2H dilution technique to quantify total body water and subsequently fat mass, fat-free mass and %BF. Ethnic differences in the BMI–%BF relationship were found; for example, %BF in Filipino boys was approximately 2 % lower than in their Thai and Malay counterparts. In contrast, Thai girls had approximately 2·0 % higher %BF values than in their Chinese, Lebanese, Filipino and Malay counterparts at a given BMI. However, the ethnic difference in the BMI–%BF relationship varied by BMI. Compared with Caucasian children of the same age, Asian children had 3–6 units lower BMI at a given %BF. Approximately one-third of the obese Asian children (%BF above 25 % for boys and above 30 % for girls) in the study were not identified using the WHO classification and more than half using the International Obesity Task Force classification. Use of the Chinese classification increased the sensitivity. Results confirmed the necessity to consider ethnic differences in body composition when developing BMI cut-points and other obesity criteria in Asian children.

1994 ◽  
Vol 71 (6) ◽  
pp. 823-833 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marjolein Visser ◽  
Ellen Van Den Heuvel ◽  
Paul Deurenberg

To study the relationship between health and nutritional status in elderly populations, information about body composition is essential. To collect this information in large epidemiological studies, practical methods based on anthropometric data must be available. In the present study the relationship between body composition, determined by densitometry, and anthropometric data in 204 elderly men and women, aged 60–87 years, was analysed. Existing prediction equations described in the literature, and mainly based on young and middle-aged subjects, generally underestimated percentage body fat in the elderly study population. Therefore, new prediction equations were developed, based on sex and the sum of two (biceps and triceps) or four (biceps, triceps, suprailiaca and subscapula) skinfolds or the body mass index (BMI). Addition of age or body circumferences to the models did not improve the prediction of body density. Internal cross validation and external validation revealed that the formulas are valid for the estimation of body density in elderly subjects. The standard errors of estimate of the three models, expressed as percentage body fat, were 5.6, 5.4 and 4.8% respectively.


2006 ◽  
Vol 95 (5) ◽  
pp. 1002-1007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masaharu Kagawa ◽  
Deborah Kerr ◽  
Hayato Uchida ◽  
Colin W Binns

This cross-sectional study aimed to determine ethnic and environmental influences on the relationship between BMI and percentage body fat, using a sample of 144 Japanese and 140 Australian-Caucasian men living in Australia, and eighty-eight Japanese men living in Japan. Body composition was assessed by anthropometry using standard international methods (International Society for the Advancement of Kinanthropometry protocol). Body density was predicted using Durnin and Womersley's (1974) equation, and percentage body fat was calculated from Siri's (1961) equation.Significant (P<0·05) ethnic differences in stature, body mass and BMI were observed between Japanese and Australian men, but no ethnic differences were observed in their percentage body fat and height-corrected sum of skinfold thicknesses. No differences were found in the BMI–percentage body fat relationship between the Japanese subjects living in Australia and in Japan. Significant (P<0·05) ethnic differences in the BMI–percentage body fat relationship observed from a comparison between pooled Japanese men(aged 18–40 years, BMI range 16·6–32·8kg/m2) andAustralians (aged 18–39 years, BMI range 16·1–31·4kg/m2) suggest that Japanese men are likely to havea greater percentage body fat than Australian men at any given BMI value.From the analyses, the Japanese men were estimated to have an equivalent amount of body fat to the Australian men at BMI values that were about 1·5 units lower than those of the Australians (23·5kg/m2 and 28·2kg/m2, respectively).It was concluded that Japanese men have greater body fat deposition than Australian-Caucasians at the same BMI value. Japanese men may therefore require lower BMI cut-off points to identify obese individuals compared with Australian-Caucasian men.


1994 ◽  
Vol 71 (3) ◽  
pp. 309-316 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Deurenberg ◽  
Klaas R. Westerterp ◽  
Erica J. M. Velthuis-Te Wierik

Body composition was measured in nine healthy, normal-weight, weight-stable subjects in three different research centres. In each centre the usual procedures for the measurements were followed. It revealed that the measurement procedures in the three centres were comparable. Body composition was measured in each centre between 09.00 and 13.00 hours after a light breakfast by densitometry (underwater weighing) and bio-electrical impedance. A single, total-body-water determination by D2O dilution was used as a reference value. Body fat determined by densitometry was significantly lower in one centre, which, however, could be completely explained by a lower body weight, probably due to water loss (the subjects refrained for a longer time from food and drinks before the measurements in that centre) and, thus, by violation of the assumptions of Siri's (1961) formula. Also, body impedance was slightly higher in that centre, indicating a lower amount of body water. Mean body fat from densitometry was also slightly lower in that centre compared with body fat determined by D2O dilution. Individual differences between body fat from densitometry and from total body water were relatively large, up to 7% body fat. The relationship between fat-free mass from densitometry and bio-electrical impedance was not different between the centres. It is concluded that differences in the relationship between body composition and bio-electrical impedance, as reported in the literature, may be due to differences in standardization procedures and/or differences in reference population.


2012 ◽  
Vol 15 (12) ◽  
pp. 2220-2227 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ying Wang ◽  
Beate Lloyd ◽  
Meng Yang ◽  
Catherine G Davis ◽  
Sang-Gil Lee ◽  
...  

AbstractObjectiveThe present study evaluated the contribution of 100 % orange juice (OJ) consumption to the intakes of macronutrients and energy and its impact on body composition.DesignA cross-sectional study was conducted. The main exposure was OJ consumption based on two non-consecutive 24 h diet recalls. Macronutrient and energy intakes and body composition parameters were outcome measures. All statistical analyses were carried out using SAS and SUDAAN statistical software packages to allow for multistage sample designs.SettingThe US population and its subgroups.SubjectsThe US population aged ≥4 years (n 13 971) from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2003–2006, conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics.ResultsIn this US population, OJ consumers had lower BMI and healthier lifestyle behaviours (including lower alcohol consumption and smoking as well as higher exercise level) than non-consumers (P < 0·05). After adjusting for covariates, OJ consumers had higher daily intakes of carbohydrate, total sugar, total fat and energy than non-consumers (P < 0·01). However, these linear trends still remained even after OJ was removed from the food list of items consumed. Adult OJ consumers had lower BMI, waist circumference and percentage body fat than non-consumers (P < 0·01), as well as lower odds ratio for overweight and obesity (P < 0·01). These effects were not seen in children and adolescents, where there was no significant difference in BMI, waist circumference and percentage body fat in OJ consumers compared with non-consumers.ConclusionsOJ consumption was associated with healthier body composition in adults; while there were no significant associations between OJ consumption and body composition in children and adolescents.


2003 ◽  
Vol 90 (4) ◽  
pp. 837-844 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aneesa M. Al-Sendi ◽  
Prakash Shetty ◽  
Abdulrahman O. Musaiger ◽  
Mark Myatt

The objective of the present study was to examine the relationship between body composition and blood pressure (BP) in Bahraini adolescents. A sample of 504 Bahraini schoolchildren aged 12–17 years (249 boys and 255 girls) was selected using a multi-stage stratified sampling procedure. BP measurements were performed on the students. Anthropometric data including weight, height, waist circumference (WC), hip circumference, and triceps, subscapular and medial calf skinfold thicknesses were also collected. BMI, percentage body fat, waist:hip (WHR), and subscapular:triceps skinfold ratio were calculated. Mean systolic BP and mean diastolic BP were higher in males than in females. Weight and height in boys and weight only in girls were significantly associated with systolic BP independent of age or percentage fat. Nearly 14% of the adolescents were classified as having high BP. BMI and percentage body fat were significantly and positively associated with the risk of having high BP in the boys and girls. Adolescents with high WHR or WC, as indicators for central obesity, tended to have higher BP values. The results from the present study indicate that obesity influences the BP of Bahraini adolescents and that simple anthropometric measurements such as WHR and WC are useful in identifying children at risk of developing high BP. These findings together with the known tracking of BP from adolescence into adulthood underline the importance of establishing intervention programmes in order to prevent the development of childhood and adolescent obesity.


2019 ◽  
Vol 82 (4) ◽  
pp. 339-347
Author(s):  
Tereza Sofková ◽  
Michaela Hřivnová ◽  
Marie Chrásková

Abstract Appropriate dietary habits and healthy nutrition play a part in weight control. Set positive principles make precondition for satisfactory state of the body and its composition. Body mass index (BMI) is most commonly used to assess optimal body mass in relation to health risks. However, BMI does not enable the representation of individual body components and may lead to misdiagnosis in one person. The aim of our study was to evaluate dietary habits and selected body composition parameters based on BMI. Moreover, we evaluated these parameters in relation to the daily frequency of meals. The research group consisted of 318 female students of pedagogical disciplines of Palacký University in Olomouc, aged between 18 and 30 years. (22.3±2.5 years). The survey was conducted in March 2018 and 2019. Data on dietary habits were acquired through a questionnaire survey that focused on the daily frequency of meals. Multi-frequency bioimpedance analysis using InBody 720 analyser was used to determine body composition parameters. In the normal weight BMI (BMI_N) category, the selected parameters (BFP: body fat percentage, VFA: visceral fat, FFM: fat-free mass) based on general recommendations for body composition are met. In the overweight and obesity (BMI_O) category, the mean BFP values fall, as expected, into the obesity category (≥35%). We may conclude that statistically significantly lower relative risk of damage to health assessed by the body fat and visceral fat (BFM, BFP, VFA, BFMI) was found to be significantly lower in women who consume 5 meals per day compared to women who consume 4 or less daily portions of food. The differences between the BMI categories for individual meals during the day were statistically insignificant for the group we investigated. We evaluate the dietary habits positively based on the low frequency of skipping meals.


2019 ◽  
Vol 73 ◽  
pp. 572-580
Author(s):  
Katarzyna Banach ◽  
Paweł Glibowski ◽  
Paulina Skorek

Aim: Body composition, especially the mass of adipose tissue, affects the risk of developing the metabolic and cardiovascular diseases as well as some cancers. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between the body composition of adults and their Body Mass Index. Material/Methods: The study involved 120 subjects (69 women and 51 men) aged 19 – 66 (30.55 ± 10.41). The recruited subjects were assigned to three subgroups: with normal body weight, overweight and obesity, depending on the BMI value. There were 40 subjects in each subgroup, including 23 women and 17 men. Besides the measurements of height and body mass, the SECA mBCA515 analyser was applied for the body composition analysis using the bioelectric impedance method. Results: A significant association was found between the BMI index and fat mass, lean mass and muscle mass, both in the whole group and after taking into account the sex. The correlation coefficient R range was from –0.88 to 0.97. The incidence of obesity in the studied group according to body fat content criteria (>25% for men and >30% for women) was 57%, while according to BMI criteria –33%. BMI cut-off points for obesity were 27.8, 26.4 and 26.4 kg/m2 for men, women and for all, respectively. Conclusions: In epidemiological studies, to identify obese people, body fat should also be taken into account in addition to BMI. If obesity is understood as excess fat, and not excess weight, the cut-off points for BMI-based obesity should be lowered.


Author(s):  
Violet Kankane Moselakgomo ◽  
Marlise Van Staden

Background: This study was designed to estimate overweight and obesity in school children by using contrasting definitions recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF).Method: The sample size consisted of 1361 learners (n = 678 boys; n = 683 girls) aged 9–13 years who were randomly selected from Mpumalanga and Limpopo provinces of South Africa. A cross-sectional and descriptive design was used to measure the children’s anthropometric characteristics. Based on height and weight measurements, the children’s body mass index (BMI) was calculated and used to classify them as underweight, overweight and obese. Percentage body fat was calculated from the sum of two skinfolds (i.e. triceps and subscapular). Age-specific BMI, percentage body fat and sum of skinfolds were examined for the boys and girls.Results: A higher prevalence of overweight and obesity was found in boys and girls when the CDC BMI categories were used. In contrast, the IOTF BMI classifications indicated a strong prevalence of underweight among the children.Conclusion: In contrast to the IOTF index that yielded a greater occurrence of underweight among South African children, the CDC criteria indicated a higher prevalence of obesity and overweight among the same children. Future large-scale surveillance studies are needed to determine the appropriateness of different definitions in order to establish a more reliable indicator for estimating overweight and obesity in South African children.


2005 ◽  
Vol 93 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Khongsdier

This paper deals with BMI and morbidity in relation to body-fat mass (BFM) and fat-free mass (FFM). The analysis was based on cross-sectional data concerning the age, household income, anthropometry and morbidity of 575 males aged 18–59 years from a rural community in North-East India. Data on morbidity were based on the self-reported morbidity (SRM) of the subjects during the last 4 weeks before the survey, whereas data on BMI and body composition were estimated from anthropometry. It was found that SRM was significantly associated with age and income. However, the relationship between BMI and SRM was not significant after adjusting for age and income. Separating the BMI into body-fat mass index (BFMI being BFM in kg divided by height squared in metres) and fat-free mass index (FFMI being FFM in kg divided by height squared in metres), it was found that BFMI was significantly associated with SRM after adjusting for age, income and FFMI. The subjects with a low (<2·9 kg/m2) BFMI were about 4·7 times (odds ratio 4·7, 95 % CI 2·6, 8·6) more likely to become sick than those with a normal (2·9–5·0 kg/m2) BFMI. In addition, the risk of becoming sick was higher in the subjects with a high (>5·0 kg/m2) BFMI than in those with a normal BFMI (odds ratio 3·9, 95 % CI 1·3, 9·8). However, the relationship between FFMI and morbidity was not clearly perceptible. It is therefore speculated that BMI may not always provide accurate information about the variation in body fat and body composition that is associated with morbidity.


2020 ◽  
pp. 1-5
Author(s):  
Dorcus Mbithe D Kigaru ◽  
Zipporah W Ndung’u ◽  
Catherine W Macharia-Mutie

Abstract Objective: WHO BMI-for-age z score (BAZ) is widely used in epidemiology, yet it does not distinguish body fat-free mass and fat mass which are better indicators of obesity and related risks. The stable isotope dilution techniques (SIDT) are gold standard methods of assessing body composition. Main objective was to assess significant differences in measurement and validity of WHO BMI-for-age classification for defining childhood obesity by comparing with body fatness using SIDT among schoolchildren. Design: A cross-sectional analytical study. A questionnaire, anthropometry and body composition data were used. SPSS was used to analyse data at P < 0·05 at 95 % CI. Setting: Primary schools in Nairobi City County, Kenya Participants: One hundred seventy-nine schoolchildren aged 8–11 years were randomly sampled. Results: Prevalence of adiposity by reference SIDT (24·0 %) was significantly higher than that of obesity by BAZ > 2 sd (2·8 %) (Wilcoxon test, P < 0·05). Concordance coefficient between SIDT and BAZ > 2 sd in diagnosing obesity was poor (κ = 0·167). Only 11·6 % of children with excess body fat were correctly diagnosed as obese by BAZ > 2 sd. The use of BAZ > 1 sd for overweight and obesity showed fair concordance coefficient (κ = 0·409, P < 0·001) with 32·5% of children with excess fat positively identified as overweight and obese. Conclusion: WHO BMI-for-age cut-off points severely underestimate the prevalence of overweight and obesity compared with body composition assessment by stable isotope dilution techniques. Evidence-informed interventions should be based on more accurate estimates of overweight and obesity than that can be provided by BAZ.


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