Literature Review.

European Journals of Clinical Nutrition, November 1998, Volume 52, Number 11, Pages 779-783

Research Topic :
Relationship between body fat and body mass index: differences between Indonesians and Dutch Caucasians.

Researcher :
S Gurrici, Y Hartriyanti, J G A J Hautvast and P Deurenberg.
School of Public Health, Gedung D Lt.II, University of Indonesia, Depok, Indonesia

Purpose:
Is to study the relationship between percentage of body fat and body mass index (BMI) in two different ethnic groups (Indonesians and Caucasians) in order to evaluate the validity of the BMI cut-off points for obesity.

Design:
Cross-sectional study.

Measurements:
Body weight, body height, body fat by deuterium oxide dilution and skinfold thickness.

Results:
Body fat could be well predicted by body mass index (BMI) and sex in the Indonesians and by BMI, sex and age in the Dutch with a prediction error of 3.6 and 3.3% for the two populations. Although the body mass index in the Indonesian group was about 2 kg/m2 lower compared to the Dutch, the amount of body fat was 3% points higher. Because of the small differences between the age group, weight and height and the differences in body fat were corrected for this (ANOVA). Indonesians having the same weight, height, age and sex have generally 4.8% points more body fat compared to Dutch. Indonesians having the same % body fat, age and sex have generally a 2.9 kg/m2 lower BMI compared to the Dutch.

Conclusions:
The results show that the relationship between percentage of body fat and BMI is different between Indonesians and Dutch Caucasians. If obesity is regarded as an excess of body fat and not as an excess of weight (increased BMI), the cut-off points for obesity in Indonesia based on the BMI should be 27 kg/m2 instead of 30 kg/m2.

Website : http://www.nature.com/ejcn/journal/v52/n11/abs/1600637a.html