Body Mass Index and Weight Distribution

Abstract

It has been accepted for many years that being overweight or obese, as indicated by a body mass index (BMI) of 25 or over for the former and 30 or over for the latter, is associated with impairment of long term health and prognosis. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has indicated that, in Caucasians, waist measurements of 94 cm or more in men, and 80 cm or more in women have similar adverse effects on health, with increased risks at 102 cm or more in men and 88 cm in women. The role of waist-hip ratio (W/H) and whether it represents a better index than waist (W) measurement alone is being debated; many papers favour waist measurement alone. But two papers in 2005 discussing 27,098 subjects, 12,461 of whom had myocardial infarction and 14,637 controls, come down firmly in favour of W/H and were followed by a Lancet Editorial entitled 'Farewell to Body Mass Index?' Life assurance companies at medical examination usually request height and weight measurements (and therefore BMI). Most ask for waist measurements and a few hip measurements in addition (and therefore W/H). The authors have reviewed the data in 816 consecutive subjects for life assurance examination in whom BMIs, Ws and W/Hs were all recorded. In these the evidence supports the use of W as the best indicator of risk in men (634 cases), but not in the relatively small number of women (182 cases) in whom H appeared better. We believe that BMI, W and W/H should be recorded in every subject at life assurance examination so that the insurance companies in the long term will be able to reach valid conclusions about their individual and collective value.

Prevalence of obesity-associated with health issues among Koya Technical Institutes Staff in Kurdistan Region, Iraq

“…In addition, the respondent's body weight calculated by digital scale weighting TANITA starts around 1 kg. Participants require to remove any heavy mass to prevent imbalance decrease and increase in body mass (Pengelly and Morris, 2009). The WHO diagnostic criteria were used in classifying the subjects as overweight and obese.…”

Increasing body weight: 1989–2008

“…Where there are no data recorded, these values are not available. The methodology of measurements in our subjects is fully discussed elsewhere (6).…”

The Role of Adipose Tissue and Adipokines in Obesity-Related Inflammatory Diseases

“…More than two thirds of American population is overweight, a common condition of other Western populations [ 2 ]. In particular, the highest frequency of obesity is observed in the United States, Europe and the Middle East and the lowest in sub-Saharan Africa and East Asia [ 3 ]. In these parts of world, this condition is very alarming, because it occurs in children and adolescents [ 4 , 5 ].…”