Heymsfield 2014 Am J Clin Nutr
| Heymsfield SB, Peterson CM, Thomas DM, Heo M, Schuna JM Jr, Hong S, Choi W (2014) Scaling of adult body weight to height across sex and race/ethnic groups: relevance to BMI. Am J Clin Nutr 100:1455-61. |
Heymsfield SB, Peterson CM, Thomas DM, Heo M, Schuna JM Jr, Hong S, Choi W (2014) Am J Clin Nutr
Abstract: BACKGROUND: Body mass index (BMI) is formulated on the assumption that body weight (BW) scales to height with a power of 2 (BWβheight(2)), independent of sex and race-ethnicity. Powers differing from 2 are observed in studies of selected samples, thus raising the question if BMI is a generalizable metric that makes BW independent of height across populations.
OBJECTIVES: The objectives were to test the hypothesis that adult BW scales to height with a power of 2 independent of sex and race-ethnicity and to advance an understanding of BMI as a measure of shape by extending allometric analyses to waist circumference (WC).
DESIGN: We conducted cross-sectional subject evaluations, including body composition, from the NHANES and the Korean NHANES (KNHANES). Variations of the allometric model (Y = Ξ±X(Ξ²)) were used to establish height scaling powers (Ξ² Β± SE) across non-Hispanic white and black, Mexican American, and Korean men and women.
RESULTS: Exploratory analyses in population samples established age and adiposity as important independent determinants of height scaling powers (i.e., Ξ²). After age and adiposity in the next series of analyses were controlled for, BW scaling powers were nonsignificantly different between race/ethnic groups within each sex group; WC findings were similar in women, whereas small but significant between-race differences were observed in the men. Sex differences in Ξ² values were nonsignificant except for BW in non-Hispanic blacks and WC in Koreans (P < 0.05). Nationally representative powers for BW were (NHANES/KNHANES) 2.12 Β± 0.05/2.11 Β± 0.06 for men and 2.02 Β± 0.04/1.99 Β± 0.06 for women and for WC were 0.66 Β± 0.03/0.67 Β± 0.05 for men and 0.61 Β± 0.04/0.56 Β± 0.05 for women.
CONCLUSIONS: Adult BW scales to height with a power of βΌ2 across the 8 sex and race/ethnic groups, an observation that makes BMI a generalizable height-independent measure of shape across most populations. WC also follows generalizable scaling rules, a finding that has implications for defining body shape in populations who differ in stature.
β’ Bioblast editor: Gnaiger E
Labels: MiParea: Gender
Organism: Human
Preparation: Intact organism
BMI, BMI-cutoff
