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Obesity measures in the Kiribati population: a need to reclassify body mass index cut-points

2020; BioMed Central; Volume: 20; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1186/s12889-020-09217-z

1471-2458

Paul Eze Eme, Barbara Burlingame, N. D. Kim, Sunia Foliaki, Carol Wham, Jeroen Douwes,

Diabetes, Cardiovascular Risks, and Lipoproteins

Abstract Background Obesity is a public health problem in Micronesia. The objective of the study was to assess obesity, the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and body fat percentage (BF%) among adults, and determine the appropriate BMI cut-points in Kiribati. Methods A cross-sectional study was undertaken among 483 adults randomly selected from South Tarawa (ST) and Butaritari (BT). Weight, height, BF% and physical activity level (PAL) was measured using standard methods. Linear and quadratic regression analyses were conducted to assess the association between BF% and BMI whilst controlling for age and gender. Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve analyses were used to assess whether for the Kiribati population alternative BMI cut-off points for obesity are needed. Results Approximately 75% of participants were obese using standard BMI and BF% cut-offs, with the highest prevalence observed in South Tarawa. BF% was significantly ( p < 0.001) and positively associated with age (males, r = 0.78; females, r = 0.67; p < 0.001) and BMI. Based on ROC-curve analyses the BMI cut-offs for predicting high BF% among I-Kiribati people were 24.5 kg/m 2 for males and 32.9 kg/m 2 for females. Conclusions In conclusion, the majority of adults in Kiribati were either obese or overweight and had high BF%. We suggest that ethnic-specific BMI cut-points to define obesity for the population of Kiribati may be more appropriate than the currently used international cut-points.