Conceived and designed the experiments: JdW PvD BJCM. Using the Body Mass Index calculator to calculate using a persons height and weight. Despite favourable socioeconomic conditions [21], South Asia has the highest underweight rates in the world (based on universal criteria). Would you like email updates of new search results? The World Health Organization (WHO) defines overweight as a BMI of 25 and a BMI of 30 for obesity. Thinness cut-offs based on an SD of 2 resulted in very low BMI values for boys, equivalent to a value of 13.8 at age 18. Type above and press Enter to search. Disclaimer, National Library of Medicine Appropriate body mass index cut-offs to determine thinness, overweight and obesity in South Asian children in the Netherlands. 2013 Dec 19;8(12):e82822. In girls, the BMI value was higher at 14.9, but still more than 2 BMI points lower than the universally used cut-off of 17. 2020 Aug;23(12):2078-2087. doi: 10.1017/S1368980019004464. The combined prevalence of overweight and obesity was then 18.9% in boys and 20.5% in girls. Because BMI changes with age, doctors plot BMI measurements on standard gender-specific growth charts. 2015 Jan;42(1):38-44. doi: 10.3109/03014460.2014.926988. High Risk: Your weight is further above healthy range. Designed & Developed In House. For all ethnic groups the universal BMI-cut-offs for ages 218 years [16], [17], or the WHO Child Growth Standard 05 years [18] and the WHO Growth Reference 519 years [19] are still recommended. Bethesda, MD 20894, Web Policies You are in the underweight range is your BMI is below 18.5 and overweight if your BMI is over 25. It increases the risk for developing many chronic diseases such as heart disease and type 2 diabetes, and decreases overall quality of life. At most ages, thinness rates were significantly higher and obesity rates lower than based on South Asian norms. The second objective was to compare the BMI distribution and cut-offs with 1) recently established Asian Indian BMI references and cut-offs for children 518 years [13], [26], 2) the WHO Child Growth Reference [18], [27], and 3) current universal BMI cut-offs for thinness, overweight and obesity [16], [17]. The categories that describe a person's weight are: It's important to look at BMI as a trend instead of focusing on individual numbers. Asian populations have an increased risk of developing cardiometabolic disorders at a lower body mass index (BMI) than other ethnic groups. However, as this study encompassed cohort data, with the last measurements performed up to the early 1990's, there may have been some influence of the obesity epidemic that was likely to have started in the Netherlands as early as the late 1980's. The formula is BMI = kg/m2 where kg is a persons weight in kilograms and m2 is their height in metres squared. 1995-2022The Nemours Foundation. Presently, no expert guidelines for thinness exist, and the current cut-offs classifying thinness are merely based on supposition [22]. Public Health Nutr. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0082822.g002. While the centile curves used as cut-off level are linked to the established adult BMI cut levels associated with risk of morbidity at 18y, a similar body composition (including similar health risks) is assumed above the specific centile at every age in childhood. Compared with the WHO Child Growth Reference Study [19], [37] the BMI distribution in Surinamese South Asian children differed considerably. A secular change of BMI-for-age in South Asian children mostly affected children >4 years. Results: At all ages the L-values were lower than 1 which indicates skewedness to the right. Low risk: Continue exercising and eating healthfully. Surinamese South Asian specific BMI cut-off points for overweight and obesity were calculated to correspond to the proposed BMI cut-offs for Asian populations of 23 and 27.5 at age 18 (table 2 and 3), and additionally to the BMI equivalent of 25 at age 18 (for obesity in Asian Indian populations). From the age of 1 year, length/height and weight were measured during most health assessments. Further research is needed to determine the ability of these new BMI criteria to predict health risks associated with a low or high BMI. Accessibility Yes The number of degrees of freedom determines the smoothness of the curves and how well they fit the data. The BMI distribution in South Asian 0-4 year olds was almost similar to the norm reference (mean BMI z-score = 0.11, skewness = 0.31, SD = 1.0), whereas in 5-19 year olds the distribution had shifted upwards (mean = 0.53) and widened (skewness = -0.12, SD = 1.08). No, Is the Subject Area "Obesity" applicable to this article? The cut-off values for overweight were similar to the recently published Asian Indian cut-offs (table 2 and 3) [13]. Another limitation of our set of BMI criteria is that the cut-offs were not confirmed by data of actual health outcomes. here. Rather than an emphasis on weight, the BMI cut-offs are presented with an emphasis on health risk in the table below. Get free access to the latest running event updates, promotions, product announcements and much more! WHO references likely under-estimate overweight and obesity rates in South Asian children. No, Is the Subject Area "Medical risk factors" applicable to this article? The universal cut-offs and the WHO Growth Reference 519 years were based on BMI data from studies conducted in healthy, affluent populations before the obesity epidemic began. As for girls the 2 SD criterions resulted in a BMI of 14.9 at this age, and as with the adult BMI cut-off for overweight in Asian populations [3], this value is 2 BMI points lower than the universal BMI cut-off. For that reason, in 2004 the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended lowering the BMI cut-offs for Asian adults, for overweight from 25 to 23 kg/m2 and for obesity from 30 to 27.5 kg/m2 [3] in anticipation of the increased health risks. The doctor checks BMI at all routine checkups. All rights reserved. Talk to your healthcare provider about your ideal body weight and how to make healthy lifestyle changes. BMI also doesnt tease apart different types of fat, each of which can have different metabolic effects on health. Yes The BMI classes normal weight (=0.96), overweight (=0.88), and obesity (=0.82) determined by the Surinamese South Asian BMI cut-offs and the Asian Indian cut-offs were highly comparable. However, there is evidence that these cut-offs are still too high for South Asian populations which have an increased risk of cardiovascular and metabolic disease risks at an even lower BMI [4][7]. Misclassification of stunting, underweight and wasting in children 0-5 years of South Asian and Dutch descent: ethnic-specific. We recommend the use of these cut-offs in South Asian children in the Netherlands as these better reflect the health risks associated with thinness, overweight and obesity, and therefore may prevent the development of cardiometabolic disorders. This is the first study proposing BMI cut-offs for South Asian children based on measurements from a prosperous population unaffected by the obesity epidemic. Overweight (incl. Below are the target goals for waist circumference measurements. Please enable it to take advantage of the complete set of features! Careers. BMI centile curves passing through the cut-off points of 15 (thinness), 23 (overweight), 25 and 27.5 kg/m2 (obesity) at 18y were drawn as cut-off levels. However, two recent studies that proposed adjusted BMI cut-off values for overweight and obesity in South Asian children [13], [14] also tested the validity of these cut-offs by performing metabolic panel blood tests and blood pressure measurements. The authors' institutions had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Nevertheless, if there was an effect, it is expected to have had a minimal influence, as the children were by then early teenagers and the obesity epidemic would have a greater impact on younger children. Department of Epidemiology, Municipal Health Service The Hague (GGD Den Haag), The Hague, The Netherlands. Yes The strengths of this study include the reliable and extensive data, the large sample size and the availability of longitudinal BMI data of a cohort born before the obesity epidemic. /content/kidshealth/misc/medicalcodes/teens/articles/bmi. No, Is the Subject Area "Body weight" applicable to this article? government site. The .gov means its official. Also, in this population cardiometabolic risks are higher at lower BMI thresholds compared to children of Western European decent [9], [10].

Yes The similarity in the shape of the BMI distribution of Surinamese South Asian children in our study and of Asian Indian children [13] indicates that this may also apply to older children. The BMI distribution differed considerably from the WHO reference and universal BMI criteria. eCollection 2013. de Wilde JA, van Dommelen P, van Buuren S, Middelkoop BJ. The universal cut-off values were created to correspond to the centiles passing the recommended adult BMI cut-offs for thinness (16, 17, and 18.5 kg/m2), overweight (25 kg/m2) and obesity (30 kg/m2) at 18 years of age. However, in the Surinamese South Asian population at every age the median and coefficient of variation was smaller. Under Dutch law (Medical Research Involving Human Subjects Act) ethical approval for this study was not required, as this study encompassed historical routinely collected data from medical records [32]. BMC Pediatr. Moreover, as the prevalence of cardiometabolic disorders in Surinamese South Asians was shown to be at least as high [44], [45] as in South Asian populations in other countries [46][48], including South Asia [49], the association between body composition and risk of disease is likely to be similar to South Asians living in other countries. Epub 2008 Nov 25. To obtain a better fit in age periods where the LMS parameters have steeper slopes, age was log-transformed. To measure the agreement between the BMI classes (normal weight, overweight and obesity) determined by the BMI cut-offs of this study and by the previously determined Asian Indian cut-offs [13], Cohen's kappa was calculated with IBM SPSS Statistics v20. Epub 2020 Jun 1. Images provided by The Nemours Foundation, iStock, Getty Images, Veer, Shutterstock, and Clipart.com. For many years, one set of BMI cut-offs has been used in clinical practice for all ethnic groups [1]. official website and that any information you provide is encrypted Currently without a viable way to change how we measure body fat, BMI is still the best option. This site needs JavaScript to work properly.