Tailoring the body mass index cutoff for overweight amongst the Nepalese male population

Abstract

Ishor Sharma

Obesity/Overweight is a recognized risk factor for most of the disorders and risk stratification is based on Quetelets index, a surrogate measure of fatness. Currently used body mass index (BMI) cut-offs to classify people as overweight/obese does not accurately represent the BMI cut-offs in Nepalese population, due to differences in body structure and composition. This study was conducted to define BMI cut-offs for overweight in Nepalese male population. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 123 male individuals aged 25 to 60 years. Body weight was measured to the nearest 0.1 kg in light indoor clothing. Height was measured using portable stadiometer to the nearest 0.1 cm. Body fat percentage was measured using digital weight scale incorporating a bioelectric impedance analyzer. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was applied to determine cut-offs for BMI using body fat as standard. Mean age, BMI, and body fat in study group was 47.23 years (± 8.72), 25.25 kg/m2 (± 3.41) and 29.30% (± 4.79), respectively. Prevalence of overweight/obesity was 56.6% by BMI and 83.8% by body fat content. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis defined a BMI of 23.5 kg/m2 as cut-off for overweight with a sensitivity of 86.9% and specificity of 90%.