Latest BMI classification for South Asians: WHO
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 meters (kg/m2).
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It also uses the latest algorithm for calculating the Ideal body weight, BMI & other calculations for Asian population, based on the recommendations of WHO & Government Health Departments.
Table 1: The International Classification of adult underweight, overweight and obesity according to BMI
|
Classification |
BMI(kg/m2) |
|
|
|
International |
Asian and Pacific populations |
| Underweight |
<18.50 |
<18.50 |
| Severe thinness |
<16.00 |
<16.00 |
| Moderate thinness |
16.00 – 16.99 |
16.00 – 16.99 |
| Mild thinness |
17.00 – 18.49 |
17.00 – 18.49 |
| Normal range |
18.50 – 24.99 |
18.50 – 22.99 |
| Overweight |
≥25.00 |
≥23.00 |
| Pre-obese |
25.00 – 29.99 |
23.00 – 27.49 |
| Obese |
≥30.00 |
≥27.50 |
| Obese class I |
30.00 – 34.99 |
27.50 – 32.49 |
|
32.50 – 34.99 |
||
| Obese class II |
35.00 – 39.99 |
35.00 – 37.49 |
|
37.50 – 39.99 |
||
| Obese class III |
≥40.00 |
≥40.00 |
Source: Adapted from WHO, 1995, WHO, 2000 and WHO 2004.
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/m2 that defines overweight in the current WHO classification.
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/m2). However, the cut-off point for observed risk varies from 22 kg/m2 to 25 kg/m2 in different Asian populations and for high risk, it varies from 26 kg/m2 to 31 kg/m2 . The Consultation, therefore, recommended that the current WHO BMI cut-off points (Table 1) should be retained as the international classification.
