title: Relative sitting height and the interpretation of the body mass index.
abstract: The body mass index (BMI) is being used widely as an index of overweight and undernutrition. The effects of variations of shape as evinced by relative sitting height (sitting height/stature, SH/S) on BMI were determined using mean data from 95 samples of men and 63 samples of women of non-European origin, representing 18,000 individuals. The linear regression coefficients of BMI on SH/S (b +/- standard error) were 0.78 +/- 0.16 (t = 4.8) in men and 1.19 +/- 0.22 (t = 5.3) in women. Correlations coefficients were 0.45 and 0.56, respectively. These regression coefficients compare with a predicted change of 0.9 kg/m2 per 0.01 difference in SH/S using a modelling approach. The wide variation within and between populations precludes a simple adjustment for SH/S, and in the interpretation of BMI additional anthropometric measurements may be necessary.
authors.affiliation: University of Technology, Loughborough, UK.
authors.forename: N G
authors.initials: NG
authors.lastname: Norgan
mesh_terms: D001827:Body Height; D015992:Body Mass Index; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011187:Posture