Objective: To assess the suitability of the body mass index (BMI) as an indicator of standard of living in developing countries. Design, setting and subjects: The analysis is based on data collected in the ®rst two rounds of the Ghana Living Standards Survey, held in 1987a88 (GLSS-I) and 1988a89 (GLSS-II). The dataset provides information on a wide range of socio-economic variables, at the individual, the household and the community level, including the height and weight data of approximately 9000 adults in the 20±65 y age bracket. Method: Bivariate analysis was used to assess, at the individual level and at the level of population groups, the relationships between adult Body Mass Index and selected household characteristics such as income and expenditure, years of schooling of head of household, access to services, quality of housing, and nutritional status of children. Through multiple regression, indicative estimates have been derived of the effects of these variables on adult BMI. For comparison, the same relationships were investigated for weight and height. Results and conclusion: At the individual level, BMI shows a signi®cantly positive relation with the various socio-economic indicators of living standard, though the correlation coef®cients indicate a poor ®t. However, at the level of population groups, the relationship between BMI and other characteristics of socio-economic development is strong, with a correlation coef®cient of 0.86 between mean BMI and mean per capita expenditures of 12 population groups in Ghana, presumed to be at different levels of standard of living. The relationships between weight and the various socioeconomic characteristics were comparable to those for BMI, while height was poorly correlated with the selected household variables. Results suggest that in low-income countries, information on adult BMI (mean and distribution) can be used for assessing differences in standards of living between population groups or for monitoring changes over time. Sponsorship: The project is co-®nanced by the Netherlands' Ministry of Development Cooperation, within the context of the Re Âseau SADAOC-Programme (Food Security and Sustainable Development in West-Africa). Descriptors: body mass index (BMI); standards of living; developing countries

It can be concluded that, in general, information on undernutrition prevalence in women can be considered a proxy for undernutrition prevalence in all adults, men and women together. However, the finding that in South/Southeast Asia women's nutritional status relative to men's nutritional status compares unfavourably with results from other developing regions, in particular Sub-Saharan Africa, provides some support for the concept of female deprivation in South/Southeast Asia. Where large differences between prevalence of low BMI in men and women occur, gender-specific policies aimed at reducing under-nutrition should be considered.

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Objective: To investigate the Asian enigma, the phenomenon of relatively high levels of undernutrition among children and adult women in South Asia, despite more favourable records with respect to infant mortality, women's education, food availability or other aspects of living conditions in comparison with, for example, sub-Saharan Africa.