Sensitivity of body mass index as a current criterion of nutrition: new body mass index redefinition for young adults.
INTRODUCTION obesity during university studies is becoming a growing problem. In order to recognize health risks in the young population as early as possible, it is important to define objective criteria for obesity. Body mass index (BMI) and percentage of body fat (PBF) are the most common parameters for assessing obesity. OBJECTIVE the aim of this research is to determine the criteria of BMI for young university students as a young adult population based on PBF criteria. METHODS this study included 1272 university students, divided by gender (675 females and 597 males). PBF was measured using multichannel bioelectrical impedance analysis InBody 720. RESULTS percentile distribution was used to establish obesity criteria for PBF based in four categories: athlete, fit, normally nourished and overweight. The results for female showed that the BMI cut-off value for the athlete criterion is 21.97 kg/m2, for the fit criterion is 22.01 kg/m2, for the normally nourished 23.18 kg/m2 and for the overweight 27.29 kg/m2. The results for male showed that for the athlete criterion the cut-off value for BMI was 23.70 kg/m2, for the fit criterion 25.66 kg/m2, for the normally nourished 26.63 kg/m2 and for the overweight 29.60 kg/m2. CONCLUSION the existing standard BMI criteria for young adults are not specifically accurate regarding obesity. We propose to redefine BMI nutritional status criteria based on PBF for young adult subjects.