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BMI, fat and muscle differences in urban women of five ethnicities from two countries

International Journal of Obesity volume 31, pages 1232–1239 (2007)Cite this article

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.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the research volunteers for their participation in this study. We also thank Linda Bewerunge, Dr Tobie de Villiers and Madeline Carstens for performing the DXA scans and for technical assistance in SA. We thank Sarah Ley, Heather Camichael and Dr Vishnu Chandu for assistance with recruitment and measurements in NZ. Professor Boyd Swinburn kindly provided some of the NZ data. In SA, this study was funded by the International Atomic Energy Agency, the Medical Research Council of South Africa (Career Development Award for JHG), the National Research Foundation of South Africa and the University of Cape Town. The NZ component was supported in part by the Public Health Commission, the Health Research Council of New Zealand and the Auckland University of Technology Contestable Research fund.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Sport and Recreation Research, Faculty of Health and Environmental Sciences, AUT University, Auckland, New Zealand

    E C Rush

  2. Department of Human Biology, UCT/MRC Research Unit for Exercise Science and Sports Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, South Africa

    J H Goedecke, C Jennings, L Micklesfield, L Dugas & E V Lambert

  3. Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand

    L D Plank

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  1. E C Rush
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Correspondence to E C Rush.

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Rush, E., Goedecke, J., Jennings, C. et al. BMI, fat and muscle differences in urban women of five ethnicities from two countries. Int J Obes 31, 1232–1239 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0803576

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