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Weight–height relationships among eight populations of West African origin: the case against constant BMI standards

International Journal of Obesity volume 22, pages 842–846 (1998)Cite this article

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To ascertain whether constant body mass index (BMI) standards are appropriate in genetically similar populations.

DESIGN: Data are taken from the International Collaborative Study of Hypertension in Blacks (ICSHIB), an observational study.

SUBJECTS: Individuals of African descent who were included in ICSHIB. Subjects lived in eight different sites: Barbados; Cameroon (urban and rural); Jamaica; Manchester, UK; Maywood, IL; urban Nigeria; and St Lucia.

MEASUREMENTS: Weight and height.

RESULTS: Constant BMI standards effectively argue for the constancy of slope of the linear regression equations of ln(weight) on ln(height) across populations. Linear regression results indicate that the height/weight relationship implied by the use of constant BMI standards, is not found in these populations and that there is much variation across groups.

CONCLUSION: The use of constant BMI standards in classifying individuals prognostically may be unwise, even in genetically similar populations.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Preventive Medicine and Epidemiology, Loyola University Medical Center, Maywood, IL 60153, USA

    AE Long, TE Prewitt, JS Kaufman, CN Rotimi, RS Cooper & DL McGee

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  1. AE Long
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  2. TE Prewitt
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  3. JS Kaufman
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  4. CN Rotimi
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  5. RS Cooper
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  6. DL McGee
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Long, A., Prewitt, T., Kaufman, J. et al. Weight–height relationships among eight populations of West African origin: the case against constant BMI standards. Int J Obes 22, 842–846 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0800670

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0800670

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