A Study on Classification of Obesity for Koreans based on the Articles in the Korean Journal of Community Nutrition - Articles Enlisted from 1996 to 2011 -

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to provide information on obesity assessment for Koreans. Among total of 1012 research papers enlisted in the Korean J Community Nutrition form 1996 to 2011, 248 articles were examined in which subjects were divided into more than 2 groups by obesity rate. About the method of anthropometric data collection, more than half of the research papers examined 52.5% and 28.7% of studies utilized the directly measured data and self-described data, respectively. About the utilization of obesity assessment methods, indirect methods of weight-height index (BMI, BMI percentile, and Röhrer index) and PIBW (WLR, Broca index, and KDA) were 62.4% and 23.2%, respectably, and the direct method of percent body fat assessment was only 9.3%. The most frequently utilized methods were WLR in under primary and primary school children, and BMI in the middle and high school students and in adults. For primary school students, WLR was the most frequently utilized method up to 2007, but it changed to BMI percentile afterward. Broca Index was no longer utilized since 2008. There were no articles utilizing BMI percentile and Röhrer index for obesity assessment in adults. Criteria for obesity assessment were not consistent among research papers: for example, % body fat, 19~40%; BMI, 20~30; BMI percentile, 85th or 95th. In the case of PIBW, 120% of ideal weight was the most frequently utilized criterion for obesity. Based on these findings, we suggest that proper methods and criteria of obesity assessment for each age group should be determined and proclaimed.