title: Variations in percentage of body fat within different BMI groups in young, middle-aged and old women.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The objective of the present study was to characterize age-dependent variations in percentage of body fat within different body mass index (BMI) classes in healthy Danish women.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional analysis.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study was done at the Center for Clinical and Basic Research, Ballerup, Denmark.
  
  
  METHODS
  Four hundred and four healthy women aged 18-75 years were included in the present study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fat tissue mass was estimated using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Menopausal status and physical characteristics were also registered.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Mean values of percentage of body fat calculated in the normal and overweight BMI groups were higher in middle-aged and old women compared with young women. No significant differences were seen in the underweight and obese BMI groups. The cut-off levels between normal and overweight and between overweight and obesity were 35-43% and 40-50%, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The percentage of body fat is dependent on both age and menopausal status within each of the following BMI classes: from 20 to 25 and from 25 to 30, further emphasizing that BMI has limitations when used generally as an indicator of body fatness, and argues for defining BMI cut-off values age-specifically.
authors.affiliation: Center for Clinical and Basic Research A/S, Ballerup Byvej, Ballerup, Denmark.
authors.forename: Lusine
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Movsesyan
authors.forename: László B
authors.initials: LB
authors.lastname: Tankó
authors.forename: Philip J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Larsen
authors.forename: Claus
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Christiansen
authors.forename: Ole L
authors.initials: OL
authors.lastname: Svendsen
mesh_terms: D015502:Absorptiometry, Photon; D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D001823:Body Composition; D015992:Body Mass Index; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003718:Denmark / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012307:Risk Factors; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D016387:Women's Health