Body mass index and body fat

¹ Owen & Owen Ltd 24216 North 82nd Place Scottsdale, AZ 85255-2811

Dear Sir:

In the recent article by Guo et al (1) and Bray’s recent editorial (2), little reference to or discussion of body fat is made. In the Thousand Families Cohort Study (3), body mass index (BMI) at 9 y of age correlated significantly with BMI at 50 y of age but not with the percentage of body fat estimated from bioelectrical impedance measurements. Only children who were identified as being obese (BMI > 90th percentile) at 13 y of age had an increased risk of obesity (percentage body fat) as adults.

I think that Guo et al could have expanded the discussion portion of their article and cited a few references dealing with the association of BMI and excess body fat with the health risks related thereto.

REFERENCES

1. Guo SS, Wu W, Chumlea CC, Roche AF. Predicting overweight and obesity in adulthood from body mass index values in childhood and adolescence. Am J Clin Nutr 2002;76:653–8.
2. Bray GA. Predicting obesity in adults from childhood and adolescent weight. Am J Clin Nutr 2002;76:497–8.
3. Wright CM, Parker L, Lamont D, Craft AW. Implications of childhood obesity for adult health: findings from thousand families cohort study. BMJ 2001;323:1280–4.