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Why are there race/ethnic differences in adult body mass index-adiposity relationships? A quantitative critical review.

ABSTRACT: Body mass index (BMI) is now the most widely used measure of adiposity on a global scale. Nevertheless, intense discussion centers on the appropriateness of BMI as a phenotypic marker of adiposity across populations differing in race and ethnicity. BMI-adiposity relations appear to vary significantly across race/ethnic groups, but a collective critical analysis of these effects establishing their magnitude and underlying body shape/composition basis is lacking. Accordingly, we systematically review the magnitude of these race-ethnic differences across non-Hispanic (NH) white, NH black and Mexican American adults, their anatomic body composition basis and potential biologically linked mechanisms, using both earlier publications and new analyses from the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Our collective observations provide a new framework for critically evaluating the quantitative relations between BMI and adiposity across groups differing in race and ethnicity; reveal new insights into BMI as a measure of adiposity across the adult age-span; identify knowledge gaps that can form the basis of future research and create a quantitative foundation for developing BMI-related public health recommendations.

SUBMITTER: Heymsfield SB

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4968570 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Why are there race/ethnic differences in adult body mass index-adiposity relationships? A quantitative critical review.

Heymsfield S B SB Peterson C M CM Thomas D M DM Heo M M Schuna J M JM

Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity 20151211 3

Body mass index (BMI) is now the most widely used measure of adiposity on a global scale. Nevertheless, intense discussion centers on the appropriateness of BMI as a phenotypic marker of adiposity across populations differing in race and ethnicity. BMI-adiposity relations appear to vary significantly across race/ethnic groups, but a collective critical analysis of these effects establishing their magnitude and underlying body shape/composition basis is lacking. Accordingly, we systematically rev ...[more]

PMID: 26663309

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Project description:ObjectiveThe worldwide prevalence of obesity mandates a widely accessible tool to categorize adiposity that can best predict associated health risks. The body adiposity index (BAI) was designed as a single equation to predict body adiposity in pooled analysis of both genders. We compared body adiposity index (BAI), body mass index (BMI), and other anthropometric measures, including percent body fat (PBF), in their correlations with cardiometabolic risk factors. We also compared BAI with BMI to determine which index is a better predictor of PBF.MethodsThe cohort consisted of 698 Mexican Americans. We calculated correlations of BAI, BMI, and other anthropometric measurements (PBF measured by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry, waist and hip circumference, height, weight) with glucose homeostasis indices (including insulin sensitivity and insulin clearance from euglycemic clamp), lipid parameters, cardiovascular traits (including carotid intima-media thickness), and biomarkers (C-reactive protein, plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 and adiponectin). Correlations between each anthropometric measure and cardiometabolic trait were compared in both sex-pooled and sex-stratified groups.ResultsBMI was associated with all but two measured traits (carotid intima-media thickness and fasting glucose in men), while BAI lacked association with several variables. BAI did not outperform BMI in its associations with any cardiometabolic trait. BAI was correlated more strongly than BMI with PBF in sex-pooled analyses (r?=?0.78 versus r?=?0.51), but not in sex-stratified analyses (men, r?=?0.63 versus r?=?0.79; women, r?=?0.69 versus r?=?0.77). Additionally, PBF showed fewer correlations with cardiometabolic risk factors than BMI. Weight was more strongly correlated than hip with many of the cardiometabolic risk factors examined.ConclusionsBAI is inferior to the widely used BMI as a correlate of the cardiometabolic risk factors studied. Additionally, BMI's relationship with total adiposity may not be the sole determinate of its association with cardiometabolic risk.

Dataset Information

Why are there race/ethnic differences in adult body mass index-adiposity relationships? A quantitative critical review.

Publications

Why are there race/ethnic differences in adult body mass index-adiposity relationships? A quantitative critical review.

Similar Datasets

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