The need to redefine age- and gender-specific overweight and obese body mass index cutoff points

Abstract

For convenience, health practitioners and clinicians are inclined to classify people/patients as overweight or obese based on body mass index (BMI) cutoff points of 25 and 30 kgm- 2 respectively, irrespective of age and gender. The purpose of the current study was to identity whether, for the same levels of adiposity, BMI is the same across different age groups and gender. A two-way ANCOVA revealed significant differences in BMI between different age groups and gender (plus an interaction), using body fat (%) as the covariate, data taken from a random sample of the English population (n = 2993). Younger people had greater BMI than older people for the same levels of adiposity (differences ranged by 4 BMI units for males, and 3 BMI units for females). In conclusion, if BMI thresholds for overweight (BMI = 25 kgm- 2) and obese (BMI = 30 kgm- 2) are to reflect the same levels of adiposity across all gender and age groups within a population, then age- and gender-specific BMI adjustments outlined here are necessary to more accurately/fairly reflect the same critical levels of adiposity.