Body Mass Index: Precision for the Diagnosis and Management of Obesity
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55204/trc.v4i1.e366Keywords:
Obesity, Body Mass Index, DiagnosisAbstract
Summary Obesity is the excessive accumulation of adipose tissue due to an imbalance between calorie intake and expenditure, emerging as a significant global health problem associated with cardiometabolic disorders that increase population morbidity and mortality.
The Body Mass Index (BMI) is employed to assess nutritional status, with its origins dating back to Adolphe Quetelet in the 19th century; however, its widespread use began in 1972 with Ancel Keys, who validated the weight/height2 formula. The World Health Organization (WHO) endorsed this by defining cutoff points (overweight ≥ 25, obesity ≥ 30), which have been questioned by studies suggesting variations across populations.
Research in various regions has proposed alternative cutoff points based on specific population characteristics. Studies suggest that BMI may not be a precise indicator of obesity in all populations. This stems from arbitrary cutoff points and its inability to consider lean mass and body fat distribution. It is argued that, as a sole indicator, BMI may misclassify individuals, leading to delays in timely diagnosis and treatment.
There is a need to establish specific cutoff points for each population, emphasizing the importance of conducting specific studies that consider ethnic, racial, and geographical diversity.
Downloads
References
Koyuncuoğlu Güngör N. Overweight and Obesity in Children and Adolescents. J Clin Res Pediatr Endocrinol. septiembre de 2014;6(3):129-43.
Kostovski M, Tasic V, Laban N, Polenakovic M, Danilovski D, Gucev Z. Obesity in Childhood and Adolescence, Genetic Factors. PRILOZI. 30 de noviembre de 2017;38(3):121-33.
Pi-Sunyer FX. The Obesity Epidemic: Pathophysiology and Consequences of Obesity. Obes Res. 2002;10(S12):97S-104S.
Endalifer ML, Diress G. Epidemiology, Predisposing Factors, Biomarkers, and Prevention Mechanism of Obesity: A Systematic Review. J Obes. 31 de mayo de 2020;2020:6134362.
Weihrauch-Blüher S, Wiegand S. Risk Factors and Implications of Childhood Obesity. Curr Obes Rep. diciembre de 2018;7(4):254-9.
Mittal M, Jain V. Management of Obesity and Its Complications in Children and Adolescents. Indian J Pediatr. 2021;88(12):1222-34.
Litwin M, Kułaga Z. Obesity, metabolic syndrome, and primary hypertension. Pediatr Nephrol Berl Ger. 2021;36(4):825-37.
Powell-Wiley TM, Poirier CP, Burke VCLE, Després JP, Gordon-Larsen P, Lavie CJ, et al. Obesity and Cardiovascular Disease. Circulation. 25 de mayo de 2021;143(21):e984-1010.
Ahmed B, Sultana R, Greene MW. Adipose tissue and insulin resistance in obese. Biomed Pharmacother Biomedecine Pharmacother. mayo de 2021;137:111315.
Misra A, Vikram NK, Arya S, Pandey RM, Dhingra V, Chatterjee A, et al. High prevalence of insulin resistance in postpubertal Asian Indian children is associated with adverse truncal body fat patterning, abdominal adiposity and excess body fat. Int J Obes. octubre de 2004;28(10):1217-26.
Zhang T, Chen J, Tang X, Luo Q, Xu D, Yu B. Interaction between adipocytes and high-density lipoprotein:new insights into the mechanism of obesity-induced dyslipidemia and atherosclerosis. Lipids Health Dis. 16 de diciembre de 2019;18:223.
La Sala L, Pontiroli AE. Prevention of Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease in Obesity. Int J Mol Sci. 31 de octubre de 2020;21(21):8178.
Hashem A, Khalouf A, Acosta A. Management of Obesity and Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: A Literature Review. Semin Liver Dis. noviembre de 2021;41(4):435-47.
Hall JE, Mouton AJ, da Silva AA, Omoto ACM, Wang Z, Li X, et al. Obesity, kidney dysfunction, and inflammation: interactions in hypertension. Cardiovasc Res. 7 de julio de 2021;117(8):1859-76.
Sanchez-Garrido MA, Tena-Sempere M. Metabolic dysfunction in polycystic ovary syndrome: Pathogenic role of androgen excess and potential therapeutic strategies. Mol Metab. mayo de 2020;35:100937.
Grewal G, Joshi GP. Obesity and Obstructive Sleep Apnea in the Ambulatory Patient. Anesthesiol Clin. junio de 2019;37(2):215-24.
Kulkarni K, Karssiens T, Kumar V, Pandit H. Obesity and osteoarthritis. Maturitas. julio de 2016;89:22-8.
van der Valk ES, Savas M, van Rossum EFC. Stress and Obesity: Are There More Susceptible Individuals? Curr Obes Rep. junio de 2018;7(2):193-203.
CDC. Data and Statistics on Children’s Mental Health | CDC [Internet]. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2022 [citado 23 de noviembre de 2022]. Disponible en: https://www.cdc.gov/childrensmentalhealth/data.html
Smith JD, Fu E, Kobayashi MA. Prevention and Management of Childhood Obesity and Its Psychological and Health Comorbidities. Annu Rev Clin Psychol. 7 de mayo de 2020;16:351-78.
Khade Y, Kumar AVS, Maruthy KN, Sasikala P. Does body mass index influence cognitive functions among young medical students? Clin Epidemiol Glob Health. octubre de 2021;12:100874.
Obesidad y sobrepeso [Internet]. [citado 12 de agosto de 2023]. Disponible en: https://www.who.int/es/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/obesity-and-overweight
World_Obesity_Atlas_2023_Report.pdf.
Gažarová M, Galšneiderová M, Mečiarová L. Obesity diagnosis and mortality risk based on a body shape index (ABSI) and other indices and anthropometric parameters in university students. Rocz Panstw Zakl Hig. 2019;70(3):267-75.
Nimptsch K, Konigorski S, Pischon T. Diagnosis of obesity and use of obesity biomarkers in science and clinical medicine. Metabolism. marzo de 2019;92:61-70.
Eknoyan G. Adolphe Quetelet (1796–1874)—the average man and indices of obesity. Nephrol Dial Transplant. 1 de enero de 2008;23(1):47-51.
NICE BMI cut-offs for obesity and diabetes risk inappropriate for BAME populations [Internet]. Medscape UK. [citado 29 de diciembre de 2022]. Disponible en: https://www.medscape.co.uk/viewarticle/nice-bmi-cut-offs-obesity-and-diabetes-risk-inappropriate-2021a1002q29
Jahoda G. Quetelet and the emergence of the behavioral sciences. SpringerPlus. 4 de septiembre de 2015;4(1):473.
Sarton G. Preface to Volume XXIII of Isis (Quetelet). Isis. junio de 1935;23(1):6-24.
Caponi S. Quetelet, el hombre medio y el saber médico. 2013;
Puche RC. EL INDICE DE MASA CORPORAL Y LOS RAZONAMIENTOS DE UN ASTRÓNOMO. 2005;
Faerstein E, Winkelstein WJ. Adolphe Quetelet: Statistician and More. Epidemiology. septiembre de 2012;23(5):762.
Nuttall FQ. Body Mass Index: Obesity, BMI, and Health A Critical Review. Nutr Today. mayo de 2015;50(3):117-28.
Eknoyan G. Adolphe Quetelet (1796 1874) the average man and indices of obesity. Nephrol Dial Transplant. 17 de agosto de 2007;23(1):47-51.
Carmena R. Ancel Keys (1904-2004). Rev Esp Cardiol. 1 de marzo de 2005;58(3):318-9.
Montani JP. Ancel Keys: The legacy of a giant in physiology, nutrition, and public health. Obes Rev. 2021;22(S2):e13196.
Peig J, Green AJ. New perspectives for estimating body condition from mass/length data: the scaled mass index as an alternative method. Oikos. diciembre de 2009;118(12):1883-91.
González Jiménez E. Composición corporal: estudio y utilidad clínica. Endocrinol Nutr. 1 de febrero de 2013;60(2):69-75.
Organización Mundial de la Salud [Internet]. [citado 16 de noviembre de 2022]. Disponible en: https://www.who.int/es/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/obesity-and-overweight
Obesidad y sobrepeso [Internet]. [citado 22 de marzo de 2023]. Disponible en: https://www.who.int/es/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/obesity-and-overweight
Di Renzo L, Itani L, Gualtieri P, Pellegrini M, El Ghoch M, De Lorenzo A. New BMI Cut-Off Points for Obesity in Middle-Aged and Older Adults in Clinical Nutrition Settings in Italy: A Cross-Sectional Study. Nutrients. 16 de noviembre de 2022;14(22):4848.
Zierle-Ghosh A, Jan A. Physiology, Body Mass Index. En: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2023 [citado 4 de agosto de 2023]. Disponible en: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK535456/
Chichester S, Holmes TM, Hubbard J. Ideal body weight: A commentary. Clin Nutr ESPEN. diciembre de 2021;46:246-50.
Frankenfield DC, Rowe WA, Cooney RN, Smith JS, Becker D. Limits of body mass index to detect obesity and predict body composition. Nutrition. enero de 2001;17(1):26-30.
Wollner M, Paulo Roberto BB, Alysson Roncally SC, Jurandir N, Edil LS. Accuracy of the WHO’s body mass index cut-off points to measure gender- and age-specific obesity in middle-aged adults living in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. J Public Health Res. 21 de septiembre de 2017;6(2):904.
Romero-Corral A, Somers VK, Sierra-Johnson J, Thomas RJ, Bailey KR, Collazo-Clavell ML, et al. Accuracy of Body Mass Index to Diagnose Obesity In the US Adult Population. Int J Obes 2005. junio de 2008;32(6):959-66.
Achamrah N, Colange G, Delay J, Rimbert A, Folope V, Petit A, et al. Comparison of body composition assessment by DXA and BIA according to the body mass index: A retrospective study on 3655 measures. PLoS ONE. 12 de julio de 2018;13(7):e0200465.
Itani L, Kreidieh D, El Masri D, Tannir H, Chehade L, El Ghoch M. Revising BMI Cut-Off Points for Obesity in a Weight Management Setting in Lebanon. Int J Environ Res Public Health. junio de 2020;17(11):3832.
Kali A, Gusmanov A, Aripov M, Chan MY. Proposing new body mass index and waist circumference cut-offs based on cardiometabolic risks for a Central Asia population: A feasibility study. Front Endocrinol. 25 de agosto de 2022;13:963352.
Eme PE, Burlingame B, Kim ND, Foliaki S, Wham C, Douwes J. Obesity measures in the Kiribati population: a need to reclassify body mass index cut-points. BMC Public Health. 11 de julio de 2020;20:1092.
Oliveira BBR de, Coelho CG, Barreto SM, Giatti L, Araújo LF. Body fat distribution and its risk for cardiovascular events in 10 years: Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil). Cad Saude Publica. 2022;38(2):e00346520.
Ness-Abramof R, Apovian CM. Waist Circumference Measurement in Clinical Practice. Nutr Clin Pract. agosto de 2008;23(4):397-404.
Solorzano AA, Stevens SM, Doak CM. Misconceptions in the Use of Body Mass Index: A Review of the Literature. Nutr Today. noviembre de 2022;57(6):329-35.
Abrahim* M, Hand B. Is it Time to Consider Body Mass Index to be Bad Medical Information (BMI)? J Obes Nutr Disord [Internet]. 25 de enero de 2021 [citado 26 de abril de 2023]; Disponible en: https://www.gavinpublishers.com/article/view/is-it-time-to-consider-body-mass-index-to-be-bad-medical-information-bmi
World Health Organization, editor. Obesity: preventing and managing the global epidemic: report of a WHO consultation. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2000. 253 p. (WHO technical report series).
Flegal KM. Use and Misuse of BMI Categories. AMA J Ethics. 1 de julio de 2023;25(7):550-8.
Tomiyama AJ, Hunger JM, Nguyen-Cuu J, Wells C. Misclassification of cardiometabolic health when using body mass index categories in NHANES 2005–2012. Int J Obes. mayo de 2016;40(5):883-6.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Vanessa de Lourdes Sarmiento Leon, Carem Franscelys Prieto Fuenmayor , Carem Franscelys Prieto Fuenmayor
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
The authors retain the moral and patrimonial rights of their works. They only give to the magazine Tesla Revista Científica the right to the first publication of this. Since Tesla Revista Científica is an open access publication, readers can fully or partially reproduce its content as long as they properly credit the corresponding authors and the journal itself. Tesla Revista Científica undertakes not to make commercial use of the texts it receives and/or publishes.
Our journal is governed by the international policies SHERPA/RoMEO: Green journal: They allow the self-archiving of both the pre-print (draft of a paper) and the post-print (the version corrected and reviewed by peers) and even the final version ( layout as it will be published in the journal).
See also "Copyright and licences".
