Chinese researchers propose using a new indicator, the body roundness index, to better assess the effects of overweight and obesity on health.
- Chinese scientists recommend using the body roundness index, which is between 4.5 and 5.5, instead of the body mass index to better monitor overweight and the effects of obesity.
- This new indicator takes into account waist circumference, more precisely the quantity of visceral fat located around the hips, which is a good marker of disease risk.
- One study found that the risk of all-cause mortality increased by 49% in adults with a body fat index of 6.9 or greater.
A reference indicator used by adults and professionals, the body mass index (BMI), i.e. the ratio between weight and height, allows to diagnose whether a person is overweight or obese. However, scientists from hospitals in Beijing (China) believe that conventional anthropometric measures to assess fat distribution are inadequate and that a more complete indicator is needed to decipher the characteristics of obesity, especially visceral, within the population and its potential association with mortality risk.
So, they propose to use the body roundness index (BRI). The latter takes into account the waist circumference, more precisely the amount of visceral fat located around the hips, in the calculation. The reason is simple: this fat buried deep in the body is a good marker of the risk of diseases.
The body roundness index increased from 4.80 to 5.62 between 1999 and 2018
To show that this indicator could help better monitor overweight and the effects of obesity, the researchers decided to conduct a study published in the journal JAMA Network Open. As part of the work, they reviewed the medical records of 32,995 American adults, 16,529 of whom were women. The information was extracted from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 1999 to 2018. According to the results, the body roundness index increased between 1999 and 2018, from 4.80 to 5.62, “with a variation of 0.95% every two years.” The authors found that this upward trend was most evident among women, older adults, and adults who identified as Mexican-American.
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The analysis showed that 3,452 deaths occurred from all causes during follow-up. “A U-shaped association was observed between body roundness index and all-cause mortality, with the risk increasing by 25% in adults with a body roundness index less than 3.4 and by 49% in those with a body roundness index ≥ 6.9, compared with a body roundness index between 4.5 and 5.5, after full adjustment,” the team said.
Given these data, the researchers concluded that the body roundness index could be used as a non-invasive screening tool and that it was easy to obtain to estimate mortality risk and identify people at high risk. “This novel concept could be integrated into public health practice pending consistent validation in further independent research.”
