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Body Mass Index (BMI) is a simple index of weight-for-height that is commonly used to
classify underweight, overweight and obesity in adults. It is defined as the weight in kilograms
divided by the square of the height in metres (kg/m ). For example, an adult who weighs 70kg
and whose height is 1.75m will have a BMI of 22.9.
2
BMI(kg/m )
2
<18.50
<18.50
<16.00
<16.00
Moderate thinness
16.00 - 16.99
16.00 - 16.99
Mild thinness
17.00 - 18.49
17.00 - 18.49
Severe thinness
Normal range
Overweight
Pre-obese
Obese
18.50 - 24.99
25.00
25.00 - 29.99
30.00
Obese class I
30.00 - 34.99
Obese class II
35.00 - 39.99
18.50 - 22.99
23.00 - 24.99
25.00
25.00 - 27.49
27.50 - 29.99
30.00
30.00 - 32.49
32.50 - 34.99
35.00 - 37.49
37.50 - 39.99
40.00
BMI values are age-independent and the same for both sexes. However, BMI may not
correspond to the same degree of fatness in different populations due, in part, to different body
proportions. The health risks associated with increasing BMI are continuous and the
interpretation of BMI gradings in relation to risk may differ for different populations.
In recent years, there was a growing debate on whether there are possible needs for developing
different BMI cut-off points for different ethnic groups due to the increasing evidence that the
associations between BMI, percentage of body fat, and body fat distribution differ across
populations and therefore, the health risks increase below the cut-off point of 25 kg/m that
2
The WHO Expert Consultation concluded that the proportion of Asian people with a high risk
of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease is substantial at BMI's lower than the existing
WHO cut-off point for overweight (= 25 kg/m ). However, the cut-off point for observed risk
varies from 22 kg/m to 25 kg/m in different Asian populations and for high risk, it varies from
26 kg/m to 31 kg/m . The Consultation, therefore, recommended that the current WHO BMI
cut-off points (Table 1) should be retained as the international classification.
5
But the cut-off points of 23, 27.5, 32.5 and 37.5 kg/m are to be added as points for public
health action. It was, therefore, recommended that countries should use all categories (i.e. 18.5,
23, 25, 27.5, 30, 32.5 kg/m , and in many populations, 35, 37.5, and 40 kg/m ) for reporting
purposes, with a view to facilitating international comparisons.
2
Discussion updates
A WHO working group was formed by the WHO Expert Consultation and is currently
undertaking a further review and assessment of available data on the relation between waist
circumference and morbidity and the interaction between BMI, waist circumference, and health
risk.
5
1. WHO. Physical status: the use and interpretation of anthropometry. Report of a WHO Expert
Committee. WHO Technical Report Series 854. Geneva: World Health Organization, 1995.
2. WHO. Obesity: preventing and managing the global epidemic. Report of a WHO
Consultation. WHO Technical Report Series 894. Geneva: World Health Organization, 2000.
3. WHO/IASO/IOTF. The Asia-Pacific perspective: redefining obesity and its treatment. Health
Communications Australia: Melbourne, 2000.
4. James WPT, Chen C, Inoue S. Appropriate Asian body mass indices? Obesity Review, 2002;
3:139.
5. WHO expert consultation. Appropriate body-mass index for Asian populations and its
implications for policy and intervention strategies. The Lancet, 2004; 157-163.
Background
The WHO Global Database on Body Mass Index (BMI) was developed as part of WHO's
commitment to implementing the recommendations of the WHO Expert Consultation on
Obesity: Preventing and Managing the Global Epidemic (Geneva, 3-5 June 1997)1, which
identified the lack of nationally representative cross-sectional data as an obstacle for facilitating
international comparisons of adulthood obesity rates, monitoring the magnitude of the current
and future obesity problems, and evaluating the effectiveness of intervention strategies.
The Department of Nutrition for Health and Development (NHD) initially developed the WHO
Global Database on BMI to provide a systematic collation of available nationally representative
and sub-national adult overweight and obesity data. These are reported in a standardized
manner using WHO recommended BMI cut-off points1,2 to produce internationally comparable
results.
During the last four years, the database has evolved in close collaboration with Food and
Agricultural Organization (FAO), as a global interactive surveillance tool to monitor nutrition
transition covering and reporting on the entire spectrum of adult nutritional status. Currently
efforts are being made to undertake a systematic collection of nationally representative studies
that also include underweight. This unique surveillance system also incorporates food
availability data from FAOSTAT Database, thereby providing a valuable contribution to an ongoing Inter-Agency work on monitoring food insecurity and vulnerability which was developed
as follow-up to the World Food Summit (Rome, 1996). The Dietary Energy Supply (DES) data
are displayed in conjunction with the BMI data on the maps and in the charts. DES figures are
produced by FAO based on Food Balance Sheets (FBS).
Di Unduh dari :
http://apps.who.int/bmi/index.jsp?introPage=intro_3.html
What is BMI?
What are some of the other ways to measure obesity? Why doesn't CDC use those to
determine overweight and obesity among the general public?
If an athlete or other person with a lot of muscle has a BMI over 25, is that person still
considered to be overweight?
What are the health consequences of overweight and obesity for adults?
Is BMI interpreted the same way for children and teens as it is for adults?
What is BMI?
Body Mass Index (BMI) is a number calculated from a person's weight and height. BMI is a
fairly reliable indicator of body fatness for most people. BMI does not measure body fat directly,
but research has shown that BMI correlates to direct measures of body fat, such as underwater
weighing and dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA).1, 2 BMI can be considered an alternative
for direct measures of body fat. Additionally, BMI is an inexpensive and easy-to-perform method
of screening for weight categories that may lead to health problems.
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BMI is used as a screening tool to identify possible weight problems for adults. However, BMI is
not a diagnostic tool. For example, a person may have a high BMI. However, to determine if
excess weight is a health risk, a healthcare provider would need to perform further assessments.
These assessments might include skinfold thickness measurements, evaluations of diet, physical
activity, family history, and other appropriate health screenings.
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Kilograms and
meters (or
centimeters)
Weight Status
Below 18.5
Underweight
18.5 24.9
Normal
25.0 29.9
Overweight
Obese
For example, here are the weight ranges, the corresponding BMI ranges, and the weight status
categories for a sample height.
Height
5' 9"
Weight Range
BMI
Weight Status
Below 18.5
Underweight
18.5 to 24.9
Normal
25.0 to 29.9
Overweight
30 or higher
Obese
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At the same BMI, women tend to have more body fat than men.
At the same BMI, older people, on average, tend to have more body fat than younger
adults.
Highly trained athletes may have a high BMI because of increased muscularity rather
than increased body fatness.
It is also important to remember that BMI is only one factor related to risk for disease. For
assessing someone's likelihood of developing overweight- or obesity-related diseases, the
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute guidelines recommend looking at two other predictors:
The individual's waist circumference (because abdominal fat is a predictor of risk for
obesity-related diseases).
Other risk factors the individual has for diseases and conditions associated with obesity
(for example, high blood pressure or physical inactivity).
For more information about the assessment of health risk for developing overweight- and
obesity-related diseases, visit the following Web pages from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood
Institute:
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Hypertension
Dyslipidemia (for example, high LDL cholesterol, low HDL cholesterol, or high levels of
triglycerides)
Type 2 diabetes
Stroke
Gallbladder disease
Osteoarthritis
For more information about these and other health problems associated with overweight and
obesity, visit Clinical Guidelines on the Identification, Evaluation, and Treatment of Overweight
and Obesity in Adults .
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Because of these factors, the interpretation of BMI is both age- and sex-specific for children and
teens. The CDC BMI-for-age growth charts take into account these differences and allow
translation of a BMI number into a percentile for a child's sex and age.
For adults, on the other hand, BMI is interpreted through categories that are not dependent on sex
or age.
References
1
Mei Z, Grummer-Strawn LM, Pietrobelli A, Goulding A, Goran MI, Dietz WH. Validity of body
mass index compared with other body-composition screening indexes for the assessment of body
fatness in children and adolescents. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2002;7597985.
2
Prentice AM and Jebb SA. Beyond Body Mass Index. Obesity Reviews. 2001 August; 2(3): 141
7.
4
Gallagher D, et al. How useful is BMI for comparison of body fatness across age, sex and ethnic
groups? American Journal of Epidemiology 1996;143:228239.
World Health Organization. Physical status: The use and interpretation of anthropometry.
Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization 1995. WHO Technical Report Series.
6
Clinical Guidelines on the Identification, Evaluation, and Treatment of Overweight and Obesity
in Adults .
http://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/assessing/bmi/adult_bmi/index.html?
s_cid=tw_ob064