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Cited by 83Obesity, Physical Activity, DietBody Composition Measurement TechniquesCancer Risks and Factors

Body mass index relates weight to height differently in women and older adults: serial cross-sectional surveys in England (1992–2011)

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Sperrin, Matthew, Marshall, Alan D., Higgins, Vanessa, Renehan, Andrew G., Buchan, Iain E.·2016·Journal of Public Health
DOI 10.1093/pubmed/fdv067PMC PMC5072155
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Abstract

BACKGROUND: Body mass index (BMI) tends to be higher among shorter adults, especially women. The dependence of BMI-height correlation on age and calendar time may inform us about temporal determinants of BMI. METHODS: Series of cross-sectional surveys: Health Survey for England, 1992-2011. We study the Benn Index, which is the coefficient in a regression of log(weight) on log(height). This is adjusted for age, gender and calendar time, allowing for non-linear terms and interactions. RESULTS: By height quartile, mean BMI decreased with increasing height, more so in women than in men (P < 0.001). The decrease in mean BMI in the tallest compared with the shortest height quartile was 0.77 in men (95% CI 0.69, 0.86) and 1.98 in women (95% CI 1.89, 2.08). Regression analysis of log(weight) on log(height) revealed that the inverse association between BMI and height was more pronounced in older adults and stronger in women than in men, with little change over calendar time. CONCLUSIONS: Unlike early childhood, where taller children tend to have higher BMI, adults, especially women and older people, show an inverse BMI-height association. BMI is a heterogeneous measure of weight-for-height; height may be an important and complex determinant of BMI trajectory over the life course.

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Crossref · 10.1093/pubmed/fdv067

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  • The trend of VAI decrease may highly correlate with the increasing trend of TG, BMI and WC overtime reported by other studies.

    “Our findings showed that while LAP and ABSI had an increasing trend over time, the trend of VAI significantly decreased in both GDM and non-GDM groups, results which may highly correlate with the increasing trend of TG, BMI and WC overtime reported by other studies [28–30].”

    From Trend of various adiposity indices in women with and without history of gestational diabetes: a population-based cohort study (2019) · cites this paper as [29]

    The Results section, “BMI trends over time by height group” (page unavailable), reports rising BMI in English men and women from 1992 to 2011. The cited paper does not report increasing trends in triglycerides (TG) or waist circumference (WC); its Introduction mentions WC only in a comparison of disease predictors. The proposed relationship to the citing authors’ VAI findings is their own inference, not a finding attributed to this source. (LLM, conf=0.88)

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  • BMI can underestimate fat mass in the elderly, in individuals who have lost bone or muscle mass, and in people of certain ethnicities, leading to underdiagnosis of obesity.

    “For example, BMI can underestimate fat mass in the elderly, in individuals who have lost bone or muscle mass, and in people of certain ethnicities (eg, Asian populations), leading to underdiagnosis of obesity.35,40”

    From Definition and diagnostic criteria of clinical obesity (2025) · cites this paper as [40]

    The Introduction (page unavailable) says BMI is not a measure of body fat amount, and the Discussion, ‘What this study adds’ (page unavailable), cautions that BMI’s meaning varies across adults and age groups. The paper does not establish that BMI specifically underestimates fat mass in older adults, people who have lost bone or muscle, or particular ethnic groups, or that it leads to underdiagnosis of obesity. (LLM, conf=0.82)

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3 of the 42 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Research works printed but not linked: 1

  1. [18]Rohrer F Der Index der Körperfülle als Maß des Ernährungszustandes (engl: The index of corpulence as measure of nutritional state). Münchner Med Wschr 1921; 68: 580– 2.

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Authors
Sperrin, M., Marshall, A. D., Higgins, V., Renehan, A. G., & Buchan, I. E.
Affiliations
University of Manchester (GB)
ORCID
Venue
Journal of Public Health
Publisher
Oxford University Press (OUP)
Published
2015-06-01
Volume
38
Issue
3
Pages
607-613
ISSN
  • 0943-1853 (ISSN-L)
  • 1741-3842
  • 1741-3850
DOI
10.1093/pubmed/fdv067
PMC
PMC5072155
OpenAlex
W1849979225
Cited by
83
References
42
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2025: 12 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 14 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 11 · 2019: 9 · 2018: 9 · 2017: 3 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 1
FWCI
5.72
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
cc-by
Locations
  • Journal of Public Health (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Research Explorer (The University of Manchester) (publishedVersion)
  • HighWire Press Open Archive (submittedVersion)
  • Edinburgh Research Explorer (University of Edinburgh) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • St Andrews Research Repository (St Andrews Research Repository) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Funders
  • the University of Manchester's Health eResearch Centre (HeRC)
  • the Medical Research Council (MRC) (MR/K006665/1, RES-149-25-1076)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Obesity, Physical Activity, Diet
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Body Composition Measurement Techniques
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Oncology › Cancer Risks and Factors
Keywords
body mass index, height, weight-for-height, sex differences, older adults, adult height, life course, Health Survey for England
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Adult, Age Factors, Aged, Body Height, Body Weight, Cross-Sectional Studies, England, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Sex Factors, Body Mass Index, Young Adult

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