Original Article
International Journal of Obesity (2007) 31, 1232–1239; doi:10.1038/sj.ijo.0803576; published online 6 March 2007
BMI, fat and muscle differences in urban women of five ethnicities from two countries
E C Rush1, J H Goedecke2, C Jennings2, L Micklesfield2, L Dugas2, E V Lambert2 and L D Plank3
- 1Institute of Sport and Recreation Research, Faculty of Health and Environmental Sciences, AUT University, Auckland, New Zealand
- 2UCT/MRC Research Unit for Exercise Science and Sports Medicine, Department of Human Biology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, South Africa
- 3Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
Correspondence: Professor EC Rush, Institute of Sport and Recreation Research, Faculty of Health and Environmental Science, AUT University, Private Bag 92006, Auckland, New Zealand. E-mail: Elaine.rush@aut.ac.nz
Received 6 March 2006; Revised 23 October 2006; Accepted 4 December 2006; Published online 6 March 2007.
Abstract
Objective:
To investigate body composition differences, especially the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and percent body fat (%BF), among five ethnic groups.
Design:
Cross-sectional.
Subjects:
Seven hundred and twenty-one apparently healthy women aged 18–60 years (BMI: 17.4–54.0 kg/m2) from South Africa (SA, 201 black, 94 European) and New Zealand (NZ, 173 European, 76 Maori, 84 Pacific, 93 Asian Indian).
Measurements:
Anthropometry, including waist circumference, and total, central and peripheral body fat, bone mineral content and total appendicular skeletal muscle mass (ASMM) derived from dual X-ray absorptiometry.
Results:
Regression analysis determined that at a BMI of 30 kg/m2, SA European women had a %BF of 39%, which corresponded to a BMI of 29 for SA black women. For a BMI of 30 kg/m2 in NZ Europeans, equivalent to 43% body fat, the corresponding BMIs for NZ Maori, Pacific and Asian Indian women were 34, 36 and 26 kg/m2, respectively. Central fat mass was lower in black SA than in European SA women (P<0.001). In NZ, Pacific women had the lowest central fat mass and highest ASMM, whereas Asian Indian women had the highest central fat mass, but lowest ASMM and bone mineral content.
Conclusions:
The relationship between %BF and BMI varies with ethnicity and may be due, in part, to differences in central fatness and muscularity. Use of universal BMI or waist cut-points may not be appropriate for comparison of obesity prevalence among differing ethnic groups, as they do not provide a consistent reflection of adiposity and fat distribution across ethnic groups.
Keywords:
BMI, body fat, skeletal muscle mass, central fat
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