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

Rush, Elaine; Goedecke, Julia H.; Jennings, Courtney; Micklesfield, Lisa K.; Dugas, Lara R.; Lambert, Estelle V.; Plank, Lindsay D.

doi:10.1038/sj.ijo.0803576

Cited by 160 publications

(152 citation statements)

References 30 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

141

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…While in the current study we were unable to adjust for smaller higher metabolic organ tissue, our results are similar because after adjusting for differences in FFM, differences in REE were no longer significant. It is notable that the black women in the current study had overall smaller FFM (kg) than the white women, this is contrary to the data from the United States that consistently report AA women have either no difference in FFM or, in some cases, greater amounts of FFM than their white counterparts (Carpenter et al, 1998;Weyer et al, 1999;Lovejoy et al, 2001;Kimm et al, 2002;Sharp et al, 2002) but in line with the published data on SA women (Rush et al, 2007) and similar to data on African women living outside the the United States (that is, Nigeria) who have lower body weights, FFM and fat masses than AA women (Luke et al, 2000(Luke et al, , 2002. Body composition differences have been attributed to differences in specific habitual dietary intake patterns and trends in populations undergoing the nutrition transition, as suggested by Popkin (1998).…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 57%

“…Data from our laboratory suggest that urban black women have less FFM (Po0.01) than their white counterparts, in spite of similar total body weights (Rush et al, 2007). We hypothesized that after adjusting for body composition differences, TDEE would remain lower in the black women and explain ethnic obesity prevalence differences in the SA population.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Total daily energy expenditure in black and white, lean and obese South African women

et al. 2008

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background/Objectives: In South Africa (SA), the prevalence of obesity in women is 56%, with black women being most at risk (62%). Studies in the United States have demonstrated ethnic differences in resting (REE) and total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) between African American (AA) and their white counterparts. We investigated whether differences in EE exist in black and white SA women, explaining, in part, the ethnic obesity prevalence differences. Subjects/Methods: We measured REE, TDEE and physical activity EE (PAEE) in lean (BMI o25 kg m À2 ) and obese (BMI 430 kg m À2 ) SA women (N ¼ 44, 30±6 year). REE, TDEE, PAEE and total awake EE were measured during a 21 h stay in a respiration chamber. Results: Black and white subjects within obese and lean groups were not significantly different for age, mass, BMI and % body fat. However, fat-free mass (kg FFM) was consistently lower in the black women (Po0.01) in both weight groups. After adjusting EE measurements for differences in FFM, REE was not significantly different for either body weight or ethnicity, although 24 h TDEE (kJ) was significantly greater in the obese women (Po0.01) and white women (Po0.05). Total awake non-PAEE was not significantly different for either groups, while total awake time was only significantly lower for the lean groups (Po0.01). Total PAEE (kJ min À1 ) was significantly lower in the lean (Po0.001) and black groups (Po0.01). Conclusions: In this sample of matched, lean and obese, black and white SA women, differences in TDEE were largely explained by ethnic differences in PAEE, and were not as a result of ethnic differences in REE.

show abstract

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 57%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Total daily energy expenditure in black and white, lean and obese South African women

et al. 2008

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…However, differences among BMI associations disappeared after adjusting for waist circumference. Previous studies indicate that Africans possess greater lean muscle mass than other groups for the same BMI and that Aboriginal people are susceptible to visceral fat accumulation [30][31][32][33]. Therefore, an increase in BMI could reflect ethnic-specific changes in body composition.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Anthropometric measures and glucose levels in a large multi-ethnic cohort of individuals at risk of developing type 2 diabetes

et al. 2010

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Aims/hypotheses We determined: (1) which of BMI, waist circumference, hip circumference and WHR has the strongest association and explanatory power for newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes and glucose status; and (2) the impact of considering two measures simultaneously. We also explored variation in anthropometric associations by sex and ethnicity. Methods We performed cross-sectional analysis of 22,293 men and women who were from five ethnic groups and 21 countries, and at risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Standardised anthropometric associations with type 2 diabetes and AUC of glucose status from OGTT (AUC OGTT ) were determined using multiple regression. Explanatory power was assessed using the c-statistic and adjusted r 2 . Results An increase in BMI, waist circumference or WHR had similar positive associations with type 2 diabetes, AUC OGTT and explanatory power after adjustment for age, sex, smoking and ethnicity (p <0.01). However, using BMI and WHR together resulted in greater explanatory power than with other models (p< 0.01). Associations were strongest when waist circumference and hip circumference were used together, a combination that had greater explanatory power than other models except for BMI and WHR together (p<0.01). Results were directionally similar according to sex and ethnicity; however, significant variations in associations were observed among these subgroups. Conclusions/interpretation The combination of BMI and WHR, or of waist circumference and hip circumference has the best explanatory power for type 2 diabetes and glucose status compared with a single anthropometric measure. Measurement of waist circumference and hip circumference is required to optimally identify people at risk of type 2 diabetes and people with elevated glucose levels.

show abstract

“…Despite this understanding, the WHO Expert Consultation recommended maintaining the existing BMI cut-off points for international classification of overweight and obesity. They did, however, suggest that BMI $ 23 and $ 27·5 kg/m 2 be added as points for public health action in Asian populations and noted the need for additional data.In contrast to Asians, there is strong evidence that Pacific Island populations, specifically those of Polynesian ancestry, have lower body fat and more muscle mass than whites (2,11,14) . The physiognomic reasons for these observed differences in the BMI -body fat relationship between Asians, Pacific Islanders and Europeans are not obvious.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Ethnicity and the BMI–body fat relationship

Luke

2009

BJN

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Obesity and its related comorbidities are becoming increasingly prevalent in most regions of the world, prompting the development of policies for the prevention of excess weight gain. Accordingly, understanding the true associations between the most commonly used measure of adiposity, BMI and body fat, and their joint association with morbidity is critical to developing informed and effective public health policies for any population. Over the past two decades, it has become clear that populations exhibit different relationships between BMI and body fat. Despite the observed differences, a recent WHO Expert Consultation decided to retain the universal BMI cut-off points of 25 kg/m 2 for overweight and 30 kg/m 2 for obesity (1) . The report by Rush et al. (2) in this issue provides further evidence that universal BMI cut-off points for overweight and obesity may not be appropriate for all ethnic groups.Due to the ease of measurement of weight and height (and the paucity of data on directly measured body fat), BMI (weight (kg)/height 2 (m 2 )) has been adopted as the metric of choice for defining overweight and obesity (3,4) . While BMI is considered useful as a population-level measure of obesity, it has been recognised for quite a while that it does not capture the wide variation in fat distribution and it may not correspond to the same degree of adiposity or health risk across different individuals or populations (4) . It is generally assumed that body fat and not body mass per se is the important determinant of health risk (4) . In general, the reported associations between BMI and body fat, as expressed as a percentage of total body mass, tend to be quite robust with correlations ranging between 0·7 and 0·9 (5 -7) . However, ethnic groups tend to differ in the percentage of body fat at any given BMI (8) . While it is tempting to attribute all of the differences in this relationship to factors inherent in the specific populations (genetic backgrounds influencing bodybuild proportions and thereby impacting relative BMI), it is possible that environmental factors, such as variation in diet and activity, also contribute to the observed differences. The report by Rush et al.(2) lends support to this idea. The results of a WHO Expert Consultation on BMI cut-off points for use in Asian populations were published in 2004 (1) . It has been repeatedly documented that Asians of many ethnicities have higher body fat levels at any given BMI than do whites (2,6,9 -13) . Asian Indians consistently exhibit the greatest deviation from whites, with up to 5 % higher body fat at any BMI value (2,9,10) as well as increased risk of type 2 diabetes and CVD at lower BMI. This is relevant because the preponderance of data used to establish BMI cut-off points for increased risk of adverse health outcomes were collected in white populations in the Europe or the USA (3) . The application of the universal cut-off points therefore underestimates the prevalence of overweight and obesity in Asian populations. Despite this understanding, t...

show abstract

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

Cited by 160 publications

References 30 publications

Total daily energy expenditure in black and white, lean and obese South African women

Total daily energy expenditure in black and white, lean and obese South African women

Anthropometric measures and glucose levels in a large multi-ethnic cohort of individuals at risk of developing type 2 diabetes

Ethnicity and the BMI–body fat relationship

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About