HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Free Full Text (PDF) Free All Versions of this Article: 99/1/103    most recent 01153.2004v1 Submit a response Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Chung, S. Articles by Gallagher, D. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Chung, S. Articles by Gallagher, D.

Korean and Caucasian overweight premenopausal women have different relationship of body mass index to percent body fat with age

¹Department of Medicine, Obesity Research Center, St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital and College of Physicians & Surgeons, Columbia University, New York; ²Department of Pediatrics, Konkuk University Hospital Center and College of Medicine, Konkuk University, Seoul; ³Department of Oriental Rehabilitation Medicine, College of Oriental Medicine, Kyunghee University, Seoul; ⁴Department of Nuclear Medicine, College of Medicine, Kyunghee University, Seoul, Korea; and ⁵Institute of Human Nutrition, Columbia University, New York, New York

Submitted 13 October 2004 ; accepted in final form 14 March 2005

The aim of the study was to investigate in premenopausal women whether the relationship between percentage body fat (PBF) and body mass index (BMI; in kg/m²) differs between Korean Asians (Ko-As) living in Seoul, South Korea, and Caucasians (Ca) living in New York City. Healthy premenopausal women (50 Ko-As; 38 Ca), ages 22–50 yr, were studied. Weight, height, and PBF by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry were measured. Total body dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry data were collected using GE-Lunar systems (Prodigy-Korea and DPXL-New York), and all scan analyses were performed by one technician in New York. Similar soft tissue phantoms were used for daily instrument calibrations at both sites. The relationship between PBF and BMI was assessed by multiple regression analysis with race, age, reciprocal of BMI (1/BMI), and a race-by-age interaction as the final independent variables. Race (P = 0.003) and 1/BMI (P < 0.001) were significantly related to PBF in this model. A significant race-by-age interaction (P = 0.039) indicated that the slope of the lines for PBF vs. age differed between Ko-As and Ca. This study demonstrates in a Ko-As sample that the BMI-fat relationship differs significantly from that in a comparable group of Caucasian women. Investigators who use BMI as an index of fatness should be aware of the well documented differences in the relationship of BMI and fatness across race/ethnic groups.

dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry